MEMORIES

Photo by S. Auberle

The thermometer seems to be stuck these days, actually all of January, seems like, at eight below zero. But, thankfully, the sun continues to shine and in the afternoon, light streaming in south windows can almost make you think of Spring.

Such weather calls, of course, for comfort food, so I'm cooking up a big pot of red beans and rice which immediately takes me back to the year I spent in Cajun country. Talk about food! Those folks know how to cook (and eat) (and drink), believe you me. New Iberia, Hendersonville, Lafayette, Breaux Bridge--even though you're in Louisiana, in the USA, it's like another country. The Cajun French/English is beautiful, though not always understandable; the country is astonishing in its wildness and oh yes, back to the food...words simply fail me. But then there's the weather--hot, humid and lots of rain. Winter and early spring are lovely, but I remember a weekend spent in New Orleans (which is not actually in Cajun land, but right next door). It rained 12" that weekend! I also remember seeing photos in the newspaper (though I did NOT see this myself) of a large snake hanging from a street sign after one particulary large deluge. Had I observed it myself, you would not have seen the dust (if there were any) of my leaving that place.

Nevertheless, it is a wondrous and beautiful land. The other scene I vividly remember is sunset on Avery Island--a bird sanctuary--and the sky, in every direction, filled with large birds--egrets, herons, cranes, storks, pelicans--winging in to roost for the night. Unforgettable...

JANUARY

Photo/Collage by S. Auberle

Bright sunshine this morning, 4 below zero. Though I'm one of winter's greatest fans, I must admit I'm not a fan of such windchill temperatures that you can't be outside for any length of time without danger of frostbite. But there's a hearty breakfast this morning of sunny-side up eggs and cornmeal mush--comfort food that takes you back to childhood mornings when all the world was bright, below zero or not.

Wrote this poem a few years ago, but it fits:

Five degrees

this 24th day of January

and about this time

winter begins to hurt

but the black brush

of crow wings

still inks

this white sky

a Chinese painting

in flowing progress

cracked voices singing

all is joy...

- mimi

THE AUDACITY OF HOPE

Let the brokenness end.

FLEETING

Photo by S. Auberle

seven degrees this morning

snow in the air

Rachmaninoff

oatmeal

Clapton

in no particular order

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

oh

this happiness

as bright

and fleeting

as a cardinal

on the wing...

- mimi

WISDOM WORDS

Photo by S. Auberle

"Approach love

and cooking

with

reckless abandon."

- the Dalai Lama

TRACKLESS

Print by S. Auberle

Last night

there was snow

and fierce wind

erasing

every print

fox, bird, deer

human, vehicle

landscape sculpted

smooth

unmarred

trackless

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

this morning

blank canvas

you start over

again

the road

the painting

the poem

no footsteps ahead

no easier path

made by Those

who've gone before

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

it is only you

and pristine emptiness

dazzling

clean

trackless

- mimi

AMAZING

Paintings by S. Auberle

Still nothing new coming, so I'm playing around with old stuff. Amazing what a click of the computer button can do... The photo of a painting of mine directly above these words is the original. The top photo of the exact same painting has been altered, digitally, with one simple click. Wow--the colors are much better, and the possibilities are endless!

WORDLESS

Photo by S. Auberle

This is what my creative mind looks like right now...Closed. Wordless. Frozen. Yikes... Nothing is coming. Maybe it's the cold and snow. Maybe it's just the well filling and filling, prior to a great creative outburst. Maybe, maybe..

Here is the sum total of my creativity today...the green and yellow painting? Really only the paint smears on the board I paint on...

Help!

- mimi

NEW VOICE

Photo by S. Auberle

"For last year's words

belong to last year's language

and next year's words

await another voice..."

- T. S. Eliot

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Wagner Road Elementary School Choir

"All that is gold

does not glitter;

not all those that wander

are lost."

- J. R. R. Tolkien

FOR INGRID, WHEREVER YOU ARE

Photo by S. Auberle

Many years ago I volunteered at a nursing home, reading to people who were blind or unable to hold a book. I became good friends with a gentle woman named Ingrid, who was completely paralyed from the neck down. She was an older woman who'd lost her husband some years before, and she'd had no children. I have never, since that time, met a person who so loved life and people. In spite of the fact that she was completely immobile and bedridden, she cherished all the small things we, in our mobility, overlook. She gave me a gift one day--this small scroll, written in Swedish or Norwegian--I don't remember which. And I may have the words wrong, but it seems to me it translated as Remember only the good hours.

Looking back at 2008 in all its joys and difficulties, both universal and private, it seems a good thing to remember...

- mimi