Southern Gothic Ya'll

good morning cats and dogs! I am still alive and enjoying the beautiful blue skies after such a long dark rainy week. I love the spring and all the bright green coming out, although fall weather is my favorite. Also enjoying the slightly longer winter months back in the panhandle and it suits my soul to have more seasonal weather than the long temperate climes we lived in for four years. That said, I am very lucky to have a family that likes to try new things, and that takes the risks we do to find the perfect "home" place.

Speaking of being back in the cradle again..I have a few quotes from a nice Southern Living article I came across from a free zine stack the library was giving away (love the libraries..always find gems).

Here we go, and please come back soon..I have a stack of stuff to write about and now that both our kids are having a "well" week, I have more time to write, ruminate, waste your time and generally wreak havok on your personal integrity.

William Faulkner from "A Rose for Emily" -

"Alive, Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town."

Carson McCullers from "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" -

"And how can the dead be truly dead when they still live in the souls of those who are left behind?" (good one)

Eudora Welty from "The Robber Bridegroom" -

"And she would look out the window and see a cloud put up a mask over the secret face of the moon, and she would hear the pitiful cries of the night creatures."

Flannery O'Conner from "Wise Blood" - (top fave writer of mine)

"It's easier to bleed than sweat, Mr. Motes".

Kerry Donoghue from "The Pearl" -

"Harlan savored every burning drop of his gin as Jezebel drifted into the muddy Tennessee." ( a little dramatic but everything's more dramatic under live oaks and ghosts of a lost war...)

Unpretencious artists are usually under 5 years old.

Please highlight and click on link below for some very amusing and scary pictures Gawker fans sent in of 'art' they did as children. We must never forgot how smart yet primitively simplistic a child's view of the world is and laugh at the little evil genuises that run amuck our world, only knee-high.

I remember a picture I drew in preschool that was titled "Chinese people" (written by teacher, told by myself) This was probably done in some "explore the world" type project in which we learned about people in far off lands. This was also in around 1978.

Every little cute face on that construction paper had majorly slanted eyes. Every single one.

Was it done out of racist undertones and a white supremacy world view?? No, dear friends, it was done because that's how some people look to a 4 year old. Just like skin may brown or a language may be silly sounding to a 4 year old. There is no context, only subject.
Oh, if only the world were that simple in Adult Land. :)


http://gawker.com/5889779/hi-how-are-you-doing-in-hell-a-collection-of-your-most-demented-childrens-drawings/gallery/1

Now you Know

A few years back we finished the wonderful series "The Tudors" and I remember my mind bookmarking the term "Plantagenet" while a young still handsome Henry VIII was talking about avenging his father's death and ending the Plantagenet line for good which he does by having Richard killed (his daughter Elizabeth as we know continuing the Tudor line). Here is a good explanation from a book I am reading this week:

"Henry II was the first in a long line of fourteen Plantagenet kings. Their reigns stretched over more than three hundred years of English history, from accession of Henry II in 1154 to the death of Richard III on Bosworth Field in 1485 (I believe this was during the War of the Roses). The name "Plantagenet" was originally a nickname given to Count Geoffrey of Anjou, father of Henry II, because of the gay yellow broom flower (Planta genista) which he wore in his helmet. In this time the emblem was used in the family arms.
For the sake of convenience, the Plantagenets are usually divided up under the names of the three related families of Anjou, Lancaster and York, from amongst whose members the fourteen monarchs came..."

From "Kings and Queens of England and Great Britain" ed. Eric R. Delderfield

Yet another great book checked out for free from our awesome local library here! I loved history and only lately have become interested in learned the details of how, exactly "royalty" came to be in Europe...when did it start? Who decided who was "king" in the beginning and how crazily intermarried all the European countries' monarchies are (some serious interbreeding has been going on for thousands of years..except for a few surprising 'broken' family tree areas where commoners were married and/or distant relatives took up the throne instead of direct descendants). very interesting to learn how humans evolved into this way of thinking, this lineage mindset and why it's important to learn from it and not roll our eyes at old history.

Good stuff. I'm going to do some yoga and try not to dwell on negative crap today. The past week has been very busy here which means we are happy, and this kind of dark rainy day tends to make me moody. grr..

Hope you are well out there friends!

Multitasking.

Did 100 jumping jacks which is apparently enough time to dry my nails. Perfection. Off to do the daily stuff but glad I did a yoga workout and breathing exercises also.It's true what "they" say
- we must remember to exhale.

Adios cats and dogs and have a wonderful day out there in real world land.

Good God, What a Night that Was.

By:Petronius Arbiter

Good God, What a night that was,
the bed was so soft, and how we clung
burning together lying this way and that
Our uncontrollable passions
flowing through our mouths.
If I could only die that way,
I'd say goodbye to the business of living.

Unlucky number?

Had to write fast because I was on post number 666 for too many days...I am going to pot a David Sedaris excerpt for your entertainment. I hope to catch up on many things during the next few nights as the PC is MINE ALL MINE (evil laugh) due to some new writing work I will be doing. In heaven once, again, writing for some cash is something that makes me smile. I don't need the money but it's nice to be recognized for something one loves to do.
Here is a passage from Sedaris essay titled "Put a lid on it" in which he visits a rather odd sister of his who is perfectly fine being who she is...but he always tries to change her.

"I am reminded of a conversation I hold annually with my friend Ken Shorr.

ME: Did you get your tree yet?
KEN: I'm a Jew, I don't decorate Christmas trees.
ME: So you're going witwh a wreath instead?
KEN: I just told you, I'm a Jew.
ME: Oh, I get it. You're looking for a cheap wreath.
KEN: I'm not looking for a wreath at all. Leave me alone, will you.
ME:You're probably just tense because you haven't finished your Christmas shopping.
KEN: I don't Christmas shop.
ME:What are you telling me? That you make all your presents?
KEN: i don't give Christmas presents period.Goddamit, i told you, I'm a Jew.
ME: Well, don't you at least need to buy something for your parents?
KEN: They're Jews too, idiot. That's what makes me one. It's hereditary.Do you understand?
ME: Sure.
KEN: Say the words 'I understand.'
ME: I understand. So where are you going to hang your stocking ?


I can't seem to fathom that the things important to me are not important to other people as well, and so I come off as sounding like a missionary, someone whose job it is to convert rather than listen...Yes, your Tiki god is handsome, but we're here to talk about Jesus... It's no wonder Tiffany dreads my visits. Even when silent I seem to broadcast my prissy disapproval...."


Thank you David Sedaris for writing characters and stories we can recognize and laugh at too!

"F" is for "Friday" and "Fitness", kids.

Again, the clock is racing against me as I fit in as many chores, errands and other life stuff into a time crunch until I have to hit the road again. These things happen when you become a stay at home parent- the clock is your little she-devil- tapping you on the shoulders saying "see that nice couch over there? haha you can't sit on it today..must get more life stuff done..onward you lazy lass". and so it goes.

I am very excited about a kickboxing class that begins soon for me, will let you know what I think and if I recommend it to you. Like most exercise choices, people need different levels and styles of activity that suits them. I see people here paddleboarding, and I know it would bore me to tears, but some others may enjoy it immensely. Who knows, maybe I'll try it. I need much more stimulation than that, I predict...and i'm good at predicting myself ;)

What is your active lifestyle choice? Swimming, tennis, running, walking, jet skiing ala Kenny Powers? (good for the upper thighs, like horseback riding, and wrestling in oil!) My number #1 choice is always swimming, I mean long laps in the Gulf but don't mind large pools either. Swimming makes me feel strong and relaxed. When a large body of salt water isn't handy or it's full of sharks, BP oil or red tide, I love to mix walking with running, love playing tennis (not great at it but I find it suits my mind), and I enjoy using weights. I also love to dance for hours when possible. This does not happen much right now, but I am looking to work it in somehow soon. Perhaps pour a slab in the backyard, hang some lights in the magnolias and go to Downtown Julie Brown land real soon.

What are your goals for fitness? Maybe working in more meat, cigarettes, and dairy into your daily diet? Perhaps walking less than 10 steps per day? Whatever your goals are, they are just that- yours. No one else's business how you treat your body but your own. If I see mine as a temple, you may see yours as a Jersey Shore, waiting to be exploited and Spring Breaked upon. Whatever the case, here's to goals, our wonderfully weird bodies, our mixed up minds, and our life's path to our own perfection.

Ta ta for now, cats and dogs.