Timing Is Everything
No, no, no, no, no, no! The ME is back. My best friend and her family are arriving tomorrow morning to stay for a week*–and furthermore they’ve never been here all together before–and the ME chooses this moment for a swell foop? A really swell foop. A really great, swell, fantastic sort of foop. . . .
It actually came back yesterday, but I was still trying to pretend it hadn’t. And if I hadn’t been violently not paying attention I would have known something was wrong at bell practice on Wednesday, when there seemed remarkably little of me and even raising my hands over my head to grab the rope threatened to ruin my flimsy balance and set me floating across the ringing chamber like dandelion fluff.** No, I was saying, no, you can’t you just can’t so you aren’t. So much for mind over matter. Whimper.
And then, because the universe hates me . . . Chaos got me up in the night last night to have the Yellow Squirts. Twice. So much for digestive enzymes.** Mentally I’ve been a case of the Yellow Squirts all day as a result: where does lack of sleep end and ME begin?*** I rang Oisin to cancel my lesson and he said Awwwww, but I have a new torture device for you! Oh, well, in that case, I said.
So I did go to my piano lesson. I didn’t quite crawl up the path on my hands and knees carrying my music in my teeth† but I thought about it. †† And my new torment is a Bach Invention: two little pages of bamboozlingly simple-looking music. I even get to play it: I’ve been whining increasingly ever since this composing wheeze began that it cuts into my playing time: and the way I play I need all the time I can get.††† But while the whole creation of my brand new world wouldn’t be visible on the wide horizon of someone who is legitimately musical, first the memorizing and now, spectacularly more so, the composing, has freaking revolutionized the way I listen to–no, experience–music. And it’s like I’m ready for a little Bach.
I have an automatic rebellion against anyone set up as the greatest or the best or the ultimate whatever–some of my dislike of Shakespeare is genuine, some of it is rebellion–and I have trouble with Bach on similar grounds. Four or five months later I’m still ticked off‡ at some airy fairy arteeeestic type writing in to Radio Three when they were doing their everything-JS-ever-wrote-and-only-JS ten days or fortnight or whatever it was saying that if the choice was either JS or every other composer it would have to be JS, and he/she waffled and wibbled on along this line for a while–as read out be an extremely smug and self-congratulatory announcer, which wasn’t helping my attitude any–and I’m here to say nonsense. No Mozart? No Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert, Schumann, Handel, Haydn, Dvorak, Dowland, Monteverdi, Mendelssohn, Vaughan Williams, Vivaldi, Verdi? Don’t be imbecilic. But it’s true that Bach has grown on me over the decades, especially the way he does these jaw-droppingly subversive things in this mild throwaway manner like, who, me? I’m just writing a little tune. And a lot of his keyboard stuff is like that. Oisin said, just look at it, see what you can see of what he’s doing. So now I have two tiny subversive pages assigned to be my very own to mess my head over with.
And I did get the beds made at Third House. I didn’t do anything else, but the beds are made.
And, forgive me, but now I’m going to bed. In theory my friend and her daughters‡‡ are going to Guest Blog while they’re here, but whether I can force them to start tomorrow, with Strange Foreign Countryness‡‡‡ hanging around their necks like an anvil, remains to be seen. Some of you will have read the Picking Out Oranges in a Strange Foreign Country story on my web site. And computers are much weirder than oranges.
*Although they’re going to do things like slope off to London and Bath. I’ll probably go to bed.
** Pretty good going for a woman in the grip of No Cal Menopause, who keeps forgetting and eating, you know, food. Occasionally. Eating is such a habit, you know? It’s surprisingly hard to break. If my balance had really gone kerplooey Wednesday night I wouldn’t have floated, I’d've fallen. And made a little dent in the floor.
*** The vet and I are playing phone tag. But at least he’s left a message telling me what to do. It does not involve a box by the side of the road and a sign saying FREE HELLHOUNDS.
† Of course I didn’t go to sleep again! I lay there thinking, the ME is back! And my friends are arriving tomorrow! And I’ve barely looked at Third House, let alone made the beds! I have to get some sleep! What is that noise? Is it coming from the dog crate?
† Why was I bothering? It’s not like I was going to play anything. Well, I did want to bring my composition homework, so I could ask some dumb ‘how do I write this’ questions. You never notice how confusing rests are, for example, until you’re trying to put some in. Above or below the line? High line or low line?^ And I told you last week that Oisin had suggested that I could rearrange the rhythm of Peter’s Song so the music fitted better with the natural speech rhythm of the words. I’ve been dubiously poking at this with very limited results, and I wanted to ask him about this too. Oh, you just change the time signature when you need to, he said, scratching bar lines and numbers onto my small crabbed opus. Benjamin Britten did it a lot, he went on, and his songs are brilliant. It looks horrible on the page, of course: I’ll find some, and show you. –Oh! Just like Benjamin Britten! Okay! Fine! I’m sorry but I have to scream now!^^ AAAAAAAUGH!
^ And I’ll be in Scotland afore ye.
^^ As another kitchen magnet says
†† Although I’m glad I didn’t, because Oisin was late, and I would have put on this heart-wrenching performance for nothing. Not to mention getting mud on the knees of my jeans. Although there is usually mud on the knees of my jeans.
††† I want more hours in the day. Pass it on.
‡ It’s true, I need to get out more. Tell the hellhounds. No, tell the hellhounds’ digestion.
‡‡ So far as I know they have not chosen their aliases yet. And I’m being very good and not choosing them for them. I think Swanhilde is a magnificent name, myself, but Peter seems to think there might be an alternative view.
‡‡‡ If not jet lag. Not if they’ve taken their arnica.
Oh dear, oh no… I hope the ME blows away like a clour and leaves you feeling in fine fettle to enjoy your best friend’s visit. You have our willpower pushing along with yours. I do hope it works… Have some virtual hugs and a plate of dolmadakia, followed by quince preserve over Greek yogurt, to recover (it’s virtual, the dairy won’t hurt).
Gah, ME, go AWAY. Robin is too busy for you! *shakes stick*
It’s interesting that rests can be so confusing. I’ve never tried to compose anything (I cannot imagine!), but rests are sometimes confusing for me even when I’m just playing. I have a horrible habit of making things harder for myself by *skipping* them if they’re little. You mean I get to breathe? *gasp gasp* I can’t imagine thinking about needing to put them in, too.
Poor Chaos and his squirts. Diego sends his sympathies; he’s got the sniffles and has been sounding generally miserable all day. I need one of those booger suckers like you get for babies. Not that I think a ferret would go for that…
Have fun with your friend and her daughters. I can’t wait to meet their Guest Bloggerness! :)
Oh dear, what a swell foop! ME and yellow squirts - 2 swell foops. And who better to sympathise with the whole universe being foetid and pear-shaped than a best friend? Just when you really need her. (Tho’ I know it’s not what you planned…)
This always makes me laugh so I hope it helps you feel better too http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZCIKjYDf1g
*** and he said Awwwww, but I have a new torture device for you! ***
How well Oisin knows you - and it DID work :)
Do tell us what Bach was up to in that piece, I love mysteries :)
if this ever happens
*** a box by the side of the road and a sign saying FREE HELLHOUNDS ***
get them to ring me, 2 more is very little different with 11 (tho they ARE hellhounds - eeekk!)
sending you thoughts, hugs and several lit candles
I ADORE Victoria Wood!!!! :)
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*****the ME chooses this moment for a swell foop?*****
These things were there at the beginning, when the definintion of Evil was being fleshed out. They lie in wait for the worst possible moment. My most profound sympathies go out to you. Been there. Done that. Not with ME, but with other things.
*****I rang Oisin to cancel my lesson and he said Awwwww, but I have a new torture device for you! Oh, well, in that case, I said.*****
(*smile*) Some things motivate us even from halfway out of the grave!
*****But it’s true that Bach has grown on me over the decades, especially the way he does these jaw-droppingly subversive things in this mild throwaway manner like, who, me? I’m just writing a little tune. And a lot of his keyboard stuff is like that. Oisin said, just look at it, see what you can see of what he’s doing.*****
I could use that. As I’ve said before, I don’t much care for anything written before 1875, but once I UNDERSTAND it intellectually, I can at least appreciate it and not suffer when I either have to listen to it or perform it. Last night my husband and I skipped the symphony (to which we have subscription seats) because it was two composers that neither of us like. You would probably draw and quarter me if you knew which one was the one I dumped.
*****Oh, you just change the time signature when you need to, he said, scratching bar lines and numbers onto my small crabbed opus. Benjamin Britten did it a lot, he went on, and his songs are brilliant.*****
Yup. It’s done a lot in 20th Century music. Last year I was sitting in a concert during a Tchaikovsky piece and realized that Tchaikovsky had a certain idea and made sure to finish it out in a certain number of bars, whereas if it had been someone like Prokofiev or Vaughan Williams, he would have simply stopped when it was done and changed the time signature, not feeling compelled to “even it out”. Vaughan Williams choral music seems to have time signature changes every few measures. I’ve never found it a problem to sing. Pop music people are always freaked out by weird signatures like 5/4, but I don’t see what the big deal is.
Judith
Grr, stupid ME. Pfft on it coming back. May it go away again. I hope you have an amazing time with your friend and her family! And give them a warm welcome to the blog on our behalf.
(How does arnica help with jet lag? I’m very curious, because I too have my life somewhat spread out over two continents [although I'm not sure as of yet which one I will ultimately spend most of my life on], and have to deal with jet lag reasonably often. Just curious.)
And give them a warm welcome to the blog on our behalf.
********* Thank you! :)
(How does arnica help with jet lag?
********** How? Go read a basic ‘what is homeopathy and how does it work’ off one of my links. The point is it DOES.
I’m very curious, because I too have my life somewhat spread out over two continents [although I’m not sure as of yet which one I will ultimately spend most of my life on], and have to deal with jet lag reasonably often. Just curious.)
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I hope the world settles again and that you have a great visit.
All four roses seem to be coming alive, despite repeated frosts - Rosa Mundi much more reluctantly than the others, but they’re still among the living.
Of the tea roses in the back, one is _definitely_ dead, and the other one can’t quite seem to decide whether it doesn’t want to come to life after all.
I finally got two of mine-in-pots planted, and the seller was right, they were still perfectly happy and just getting on with making little white rootlets.
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I was going to go on at length about how Bach IS the perfect composer and why would you need anyone else to begin with… but it was a nice evening, so I biked over to the pub and had one beer, which turned into several beers with food, and the bike ride back was a bit of an effort (though I didn’t fall into the canal, mercifully) and now I can’t manage to summon all my baroque righteousness on JS’s behalf. Plus I’ve got to get up at 6 tomorrow to go help with the delivery of the Batmobile for our new exhibit. (That’s not a sentence that shows up in your comments every day, eh?) If I don’t run myself over, I’ll make more intelligent comments tomorrow…
Don’t push me too far . . . I own the DELETE button. :) (The ONLY composter? The only, ONLY composer? Ever? Stick it in your ear. NOBODY rates like that.)
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I didn’t say only! Just best. Ever. :)
Seriously, I do love Bach–and Handel, and Vivaldi. Anything with insanely complex multiple string parts (Brandenburg #3 has 9) hits the spot most days, and I’ve always said the Brandenburgs were first on my desert island music list.
And I didn’t get run over. In case you’d wondered.
Okay. Sorry. YOu’re allowed a number one favourite. :) The original twit I was objecting to was saying Bach OR everyone else. I’ve got back *into* the Brandenburgs having been driven OUT of them by insane overplaying–like Vivaldi’s Four Seasons–nothing can stand interminable incarnations as elevator music etc. Love them. Couldn’t listen to them for years. Can again now. Yaaay. :)
And I didn’t get run over. In case you’d wondered.
********* In your case it DOES always cross the mind. :) If you’re not careful I’ll start demanding you email when you get home safely–like Peter always has to RING ME. :)
Yeah, Bach does make the rounds of the elevator circuit regularly… but I admit it’s never made me like him less. When I was a senior in high school, our string orchestra did Brandenburg #3 as our State Contest piece, and I was first viola–so I’ve both heard it and played it probably over a hundred times. Never get tired of it. But I do have a lot of capacity for repetition…
In your case it DOES always cross the mind. :)
LOL!
If you’re not careful I’ll start demanding you email when you get home safely–like Peter always has to RING ME. :)
Aww! :) I admit it wouldn’t be completely unprecidented for something like that to happen to me. We did in fact….ahem….break a bit of the Batmobile off, there was an accident with a lever jack. But I was not responsible, nor was I underneath the car at the time. Thank god. But the guy from Warner Bros didn’t seem too anguished, and hopefully it all got fixed after I left… Guess I will find out tomorrow.
Well, keep us posted. You lead such an EXCITING life. :)
I have to say that if I were to limit myself to one composer, that would be Bach, as well… Not the choral or organ music (I have to have something to grow into, afterall), but very much so the orchestral and particularly the music for solo violin and solo cello. I have so many versions on cd of both of those, and always can listen to yet one more. Each has so much to say…
But luckily I cannot limit myself to only one composer, and there are always more to discover. Have you heard the Brandenburg Concertos as played by Il Giargino Armonico, an Italian original instrument outfit? So joyous so light, so fresh!
I will now stop extolling and go back to listen, yet again…
Saturday night is first seder, so many candles will be getting lit but my guests won’t know that they’re partly for you: a whole window of candles like small stars.
I hope the ME loses itself in the dark. Also the digestion problems of the hounds. Just sleep–
Perhaps you can rest while such a close friend is with you and loll about and be brought cups of tea??
I LOVE Vivaldi. How could they skip Vivaldi?
much sympathy! I’ve been having a bad attack of fibro for the last few months….brain will not work, limbs feel like lead and I feel like I’ve been sat on by a large elephant, and the sofa seems to have developed a magnetic attraction. Unlike my bed since I seem to wake up instantly I’m in it and have insomnia. bah.
hellhound thankfully and touching every kind of wood there is in the house is over his dose of the yellow squirts. and it more or less back on form, not quite as fit as before, which isn’t a bad thing given me shambling after him on walks.
he did disgrace himself yesterday by stealing all the bread on the side - he HATES bread normally - unless it’s toasted with butter. I’m waiting with bated breath to see the effect.
and now I have to go to work :(
Oh **big** ugly ugh. yes, and you have the same ‘physician heal thyself’ problem that I do! I’ve finally taken MYSELF to a(nother) homeopath. Breath bated here too. :)
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oh bah that last probably anonomys comment about fibro and hellhound was me since the log in has defeated me this morning.
Does arnica help jet lag? I’ve just come back to merrie old England after visiting my family in America and am having difficulty recovering. I’ve done this trip a million times but normally I get the jet lag on the other side (waking up at four o’clock in the morning ready to start my day…) I was brought up on homeopathics as a child and a homeopathic cure sounds good to me.
Anyway, so far my weekend has consisted of reading Diana Wynne Jones instead of doing the job application and presentation for an interview that I’m meant to be doing. I’m blaming the jet lag. :)
So sorry to complain when you’re going through jet lag times one million with your ME. Hope you’re doing better soon and good luck with all of your guests!!
Amelia
Things that are a pain are a pain, and comparisons are odious. :) Arnica works brilliantly for MOST people–there are a couple of other things to try if you turn out to be one of the others. But you take an Arnica just before you get on the plane and again when you touch down. You can take one more at LOCAL bedtime. And if you’re short of sleep you’ll still be short of sleep, but you’ll be on LOCAL time. None, or very little, of that horrible swimmy where-am-I jet lag feeling.
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So sorry to hear you’re not feeling just so great! Do hope you feel better soon. Don’t they say 40g dark chocolate a day is thought to help ME? I take it as a prophylactic!
And I, too, adore Victoria Wood.
::sends flowers and lights a candle::
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21742944@N05/sets/72157604616360806
Oh dear. ME and Yellow Squirts AND out-of-towners! You’ve got your plate full, haven’t you? Good that at least one of those of those things are positive, even if the other two are clobbering you. I’m saying my prayers for a quick bounce-back. I do find it incredible that you can write about all of this in such an amusing manner while feeling so awful. I mean, I know that’s your Chosen Profession and all but it still makes me smile and shake my head with amazement.
I don’t know much about music but I’m fascinated by what you’re doing with Oisin. Last year older friends of ours gave us their tickets to the symphony because they couldn’t use them and they knew it was our anniversary weekend. Sarge was a bit skeptical about the whole thing but we went anyway, craving a New Experience. The lights went down, the first notes sounded and we fell in love. Both of us. Neither of us were raised with an appreciation for classical music and so we weren’t prepared for how moving we would find it. The way that it swelled and filled the theater and seemed to carry us into another dimension altogether…we’d never in our lives felt anything similar. And the principle bassoon player, an older gent with a distinguished white ponytail waved at me from the stage as they were warming up. We floated all the way home.
But what WAS it? And what are you listening to now as a result???
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The universe doesn’t hate you, and even if it’s taken a temporary dislike to you, we love you! *Hugs and more healing vibes*
I hope that you’re feeling better right quick and that Chaos is having a temporary setback, and that you and Peter and the hellhounds can relax and enjoy the visitors. She is your best friend, and she’ll understand if you aren’t feeling up to speed.
P.S. Getting the beds made is very important.
P.P.S. More hugs and healing vibes (you’re on the perpetual motion good-thoughts generator list).
(you’re on the perpetual motion good-thoughts generator list).
********* Oooh! Please post instructions for building one of these! :)
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I’m so sorry your ME is back! *tells ME to go away with a kick in its arse*
also sorry about Chaos’ squirts…
maybe Bach will cure all? ;)
which invention did he give you? I played a couple back when I was trying to re-learn the piano but still hadn’t practiced enough for it to stick like it should.
have you listened to the Brandenburg Concertos? I personally feel that they are some of the finest pieces of music ever written…
as for Britten… we’re actually singing his War Requiem now. wow. just wow. and he certainly changes time signatures a lot.
I hope the ME forgets all about you so you can enjoy the time spent with your best friend.
LOVE the War Requiem. Looking at the music would probably scare me to death. :)
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I hope you feel better when your friends get there; I’ve been through that ordeal and it isn’t fun . . . :( On the other hand, it is an excellent excuse to send them out walking, and have them back for tea and jammy dodgers and tell them it is what everybody does in England and you wanted them to get a taste of the life:)
Tell them to go to the British Library while they’re in London, will you? Nobody told me to go and I had to find out by myself and change all my plans and leave my friends so that I could drool on the Gawain manuscript for a few hours. Most inconvenient. Lovely bookshop there, too.
Well, and as far as time signatures go, I’ve played a few pieces with compound signatures…. they say 2/2 5/8 3/16 or whatever as a cluster at the top, and then as you go along, a given measure can be any of them. More often found in modern stuff and in exercise books, but as best I can tell it -is- a valid way of doing it (if slightly confusing and irritating)
This is my first exposure from the performing side. I know a lot of it (it turns out) from the LISTENING side. But I’ve never got even this far in my small excursions into piano playing previously, let alone this composing schtick.
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No, bad ME! I command you to return to the dark pit from whence ye came! (You can go hide there with all of my law professors.)
Sending you (and the hellhounds) good karma, etc.
And do you think it would impress said professors if I used your crawling up the sidewalk trick (holding my laptop in my teeth) when I show up for finals?
LOL! Yes–but they’ll still flunk you if they can! Lawyers are like that! You want to be a lawyer to REVOLUTIONISE THE SYSTEM, right? :)
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Absolutely. Although at this point I’m feeling pretty safe in saying that I never want to be a lawyer at all. Which begs the question of why I’m stressing myself out so much over these finals…
But if I do crawl up the sidewalk I’ll try and send pictures for your amusement at any rate.
Comfort food (with broccoli)
Green Risotto
(enough for 2 people who are hungry, or in need of comfort food, or both)
1 lb (generously weighed) of broccoli - the big heads of calabrese work best for this and better to have just over the lb once all trimmed.
2 pints good strong chicken stock
8 oz risotto rice (I use Arborio, but others are fine)
1 medium onion
2 cloves of garlic (optional, but use a larger onion if not using garlic)
a generous 1oz of semi-salted butter
2 rounded T of freshly grated Parmesan (optional)
Put the chicken stock on to heat in a saucepan that will take it easily - with about 2 - 3 inches freeboard. Wash, trim and chop the calabrese so no piece is larger than half a square inch, using as much of it as possible - ie, peel and slice the big main stem as well. Put all the calabrese into the stock, once simmering, and cook for 3 - 4 minutes. Then take the calabrese out of the stock, drain stock back into pan, and keep both warm. While the calabrese is simmering, peel the onion (and garlic, if using) and chop fairly fine. Heat the butter in a large saute or frying pan and add the onion/garlic, saute over a gentle heat for about five minutes until it is soft and translucent but not browned at all. Add all the rice and stir to coat in the butter, keep frying gently for another minute then add all the drained calabrese pieces. Stir well together then start adding the stock in small cupfulls. Keep stirring, gently, over a fairly low heat and adding the stock a cup at a time until the rice is cooked and everything is nicely creamy (takes about 15 minutes from adding the first cup of stock). Add a little salt, to taste, if there was none in the stock and stir again. The calabrese will break up even more during all this but it’s supposed to. You probably won’t use all the stock, but better to have plenty to hand and the calabrese doesn’t simmer easily in less.
Serve straight away, with a thick sprinkling of the grated Parmesan if used.
It’s really important to have nice strong stock for this. When I first made this dish, as a trial, I was a bit dubious as it seemed probable it would be overly bland. But all the flavours meld together beautifully and produce absolute soul food (for us, anyway).
Hope you feel a LOT better tomorrow and every day thereafter.
Oh HURRAH. Thank you VERY much. Maybe we can manage to do this this week. . . .
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Hope you enjoy it. :)
Oh, and wouldn’t you just know it… http://www.flickr.com/photos/55324816@N00/2425150924/
Hmmmm … visitors, hellhound digestions, ME, blog…..
I suspect that this [ http://faildogs.com/post/31737466 ] may be how you will feel at the end of the week!!!!
::hugs::
LOL!!!!!! Speaking of Boneless Abandon!!!!
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Hugs for you and your hellhounds! And ‘HI’ to your guests!
Try some fried mushrooms and asparagus: Fry up a little chopped onion with butter, add mushrooms, fry for a bit until they’re close to a texture you like, then throw in some chopped up asparagus and keep frying until *they* get to a texture you like, too. Serve over noodles or rice.
Spring food is great… and it’s easy to prepare.
Maybe you can put some of those great big teenagers to work in your garden for a while? ;)
OH NO! bad ME! GO AWAY RIGHT NOW AND LEAVE ROBIN ALONE! And take hellhound yellow squirts with you while you are at it!!!
I mean it! This instant. Depart! Begone! FLEE before my defensive protective wrath, all evil afflictions [and even the mild annoyances too, while I'm at it].
Cower in terror before my babblingly effusive randomness, foul ME!
Grrr.
It’s like Bartok [the bat] in the ‘97 animated Anastasia movie- “I’d give her a ha! and a hi-ya! and an ooooh-wah! and I’d kick her sir!” [replace ‘her’ with ‘evil ME’ and you have my sentiments exactly…
If it makes you feel better, my computer has decided that all internet typing is to take place in Arabic or some similar thing… see:
???? ?? ?? ???????? ???????? ??? ???????? ?? ?? ?????????????? ?????? ???????????
???????
?? ?? ?????????
???? ???? ???? ???? ?????????!
HUGS! Chocolate! Hugs! Chocolate! Hugs!
Hope you are having fun with the guests!!!
More hugs!
–julia
Chocolate hugs . . . hmmm. I think you’re onto something. :) Messy, though, probably. A few details to work out. . . .
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Hi!
Keep an eye on your email account for an email from me with pictures and links –I’ll even put the subject line as ‘ Images’ . I have attached pictures of the bell foundry that I found. And there is one link that I madelarger than all the others—it is the guardian picture same as one of the attached ones, but much larger. You may have to scroll back to it- the one you want is number 5 of 65. Ummm. And the other pictures…. Well, when you wrote about chocolate hugs, I felt the need to include some pictures—just googling Hershey’s Chocolate Hug gave me more pictures of baked cookies with the chocolate atop, and so on, which I can always send along later. But some were good—the literal chocolate hug, from Hershey park, I’d assume—it seems to be a Kiss giving the hug, but I’m not going to get picky.
Yep. So, I hope these come through properly! And that all is well with yellow squirts and ME both banished and the visitors enjoying themselves, and you getting some rest but having good fun as well…
–Julia
Thank you, I think! I feel I should be encouraging you toward more REWARDING activities!!! The yellow squirts are absent for the moment and the visitors do seem to be enjoying themselves . . . I’m afraid I’m still seeing the world through a thick fog of ME, ah well.
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This IS rewarding… I’m getting stuff done that HELPS people [i.e. you].
And you have ALWAYS encouraged me to read, because you WRITE, and if that isn’t rewarding, what is?!?!?
The tidal wave of comments directed at you in just this thread haven’t managed to frighten away the ME yet? well, then– candles lit, prayer words muttered, chocolate, hugs, cookies, tea, and goodness healing happy vibe-type-things all now sent to flood through this comment. maybe if you laugh at me enough, the fog will clear?
At least you feel well enough to answer comments!
And you have visitors who can shoulder some of the blog-burden as well.
so, have you seen the email yet???
hugs.
–Julia