Omnium-Gatherum

Hello and Happy New Year everyone!

Not dead.
Not dying.
Just apathetic about the silence on LJ of late.
Does it mean this place is dying or that most of my flist has left?
I'm guessing a wee bit of both!

Have a beautiful day!

Anne McCaffrey died today.

Her beautiful books kept me reading and imagining through my teens and twenties. They showed me strong women protagonists and fantastic worlds where disabilities were turned to extraordinary talents.

Last week I purchased another copy of her Crystal Singer trilogy and read them all once again. Each time I read her work I find something new and different - prose, timing, depth of characters.

Thank you, Anne, for giving us such beauty.

Got my acceptance letter for grad school this morning! Is that good or bad? Huge amounts of work, but eventually I'll be able to get a better paying, permanent position.

I figured it was about time...

I got into the Prescott College Limited Residency program. Starts in January!

Good grief, when was the last time I posted. Probably before summer season and then things always get so hectic and I have no focus when I'm home.

Anyway - hello to all and I hope your summer was beautiful. I spent mine hiking around the high mesas at around 8500' - 9000' feet. It was beautiful and very quiet out there. We saw tons of elk and deer, a bobcat that sashayed across the path, a dark-chocolate bear whose fur rippled in the sun, a vanilla-brown bear who was young and silly and wobbled along in the rain. One day in the LaSals we walked around a corner and found a fresh deer haunch and beat feet outta there! A hungry mountain lion had dropped it to hide from us and we didn't stay around to chat.

It was a good season.

Right now I'm a) waiting to hear if I got accepted into grad school and b) going to have surgery on Wed for an ongoing painful 'issue' in my lower abdomen (no, I won't draw you a picture). It's a good thing, believe me... well, both of them actually, except for the waiting.

Beyond that? I'm going to attempt the Nano again this year. Anyone else?

I find myself checking Youtube daily for new videos of the Japan tsunami and I sit fixated, watching the waves and listening to the cries of the people. Though I don't understand the language their fear speaks clearly, and I watch the waves eat through their homes and their lives.

Fifteen years ago I was in a flood and nearly died. Someone risked their life and jumped into the water to pull me up onto something safe where we sat huddled for hours. I can still hear the metal crunching and tearing in the darkness; the wood snapping and the roar of the water as it cascaded over homes, cars, people.

Four people who lived around me died. Compared to Japan that is so little, so very little. But I can see the same haunted look on the survivor's faces, the same shock and disbelief. I understand those unspoken words and that longing for things that are gone, changed beyond recognition.

If you are interested, then this is a site to visit. Beautifully sad photos:

Max Hodges Photojournalism

Okay, you need to watch this short video about tea. Please sit down and move away from sharp objects.

Where the heck have I been? In the winter doldrums... staring out the window waiting for the snow to melt on the mountains.
I swear I open LJ to post and just stare at it. I need something inspiring.... maybe I'll go lurk around the rpg ads and see if anything looks intriguing.

( Recent pics )

Please click for no good reason except lowering your blood pressure and snorting pop through your nose:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcRyjkYdDxM

Thanku

My daughter recently did a great report on the (clears throat) mesopelagic zone and here is one of the beasties she put on her visual aid!

( Shhhh, don't move. Maybe he doesn't see us yet. )

Latest addiction: Tumblr

It's like Twitter with pictures...pretty pretty pictures...

Someone stop me!

me on there