Happy At the Polish Picnic

Well, it's that time again, the time of fairs and festivals. A time I truly love. Yesterday, went to the Christ the King Parish Picnic in Ludlow, MA with mom. We ate pierogi, brought some home, and listened to the Polish band play, among other things, a Cajun song I recognized from Beausoleil's catalogue. Met old friends and did some people-watching. It was fun. I hope to go to many other fairs and fests, among them, the tiny yet wonderful Heath Fair, the Hawley Pudding Contest, the Hoop City Jazz Fest, Mass Morgan Horse Show and/or the Reining Horse show. The Lowell Folk Fest is probably a no-go for me (dog care issues), but I highly recommend it, and it's FREE! And I always hope to discover others. This year, need to find more close to home (dogs and driving issues). But I am confident that I will discover fun wherever I look! As mom is fond of saying, I'm a good time girl.

So, this week, plan how you're going to have good times this summer. Get publications, look on the web, remember all the things you used to do in the summer, when you had more $ and time. Plan to do a few anyway. Then write about your anticipation! That's sometimes the best part...

Happy If You Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'

Like most sentient beings in the world, I was stunned by the death of Michael Jackson. It is like the 80's died, very suddenly without warning. Being only a few years younger than the man himself, his music was huge on the soundtrack of my life. His passing made me think of many issues: fame and the devastation it has wrought in so many lives, our inadequacy to judge another person's heart, how a seemingly gentle and shy soul can also have the astounding ability to entertain, indeed to keep riveted, huge crowds of people. But what I keep coming back to is the music. I listen to more opera than pop these days-- Renee Fleming is my heartthrob now. But I love all kinds of music. I listen to polkas on Saturday mornings, go to hear bluegrass and jazz, big bands, wispy girls with guitars whenever I can. Some of my must sees are Greg Brown, Richard Thompson, BR-549, Hem, Jane Siberry, Bruce Springsteen, the Primate Fiasco, and the list goes on. But when I was in college, Michael Jackson was up there with Joan Armatrading, Roxy Music, Steely Dan. Not a dining hall dance went by without at least the vast majority of Thriller being blasted, while I Moonwalked (badly) like everyone else.

So, this weekend, start somethin' by digging out some of your old CD's, cassettes, (dare I say 8-tracks or vinyl?) and replay the soundtrack of your life. Dance around in your kitchen until you're sweaty. Remember your misspent youth. Then write it, draw it.

Happy In Your Own Time

In order to distract myself from my grief over the loss of my lovely Charming (grief which is coming in odd waves, not predictable), I went to see the new Star Trek movie. I haven't been to the movies in ages. Now I want to go to the movies every day. Only one of my remaining wonder dogs had diarrhea (in the house) while I was gone. I was only gone 2 1/2 hours. I know the dogs are grieving, too, and evidently don't want to be without me. We are spending the day together today. Maybe this is too much information.

In any case, what I started out to say was that the movie was pretty great. One of the elements was a time-travel element, common in sci-fi. It made me think about the time we live in (are there alternate times/realities? do we live in different times all at once, etc.). I really like the early 21st century, I have to say, although I am an odd combination. I am part Luddite (one who hates modern technology, from the Luddite movemebnt of 19th century England, resisting power looms to weave cloth, thereby putting many weavers out of work -- think Silas Marner). But I also kind of marvel and revel in all the technology we have, that just keeps blossoming. When I was in college, I used a typewriter. Now lots of kids in college haven't ever seen one.

So, this week, contemplate all the wonders of our world. Think of what you would do without them, and be grateful and happy that you have them. No e-mail? No wonderful blogs? No GPS? Aaaargh! Or maybe you are a Luddite, too, do without them and are thankful. However you feel, write it, draw it.

Requiescat In Pace

Charming Szarlan, (?)2004-June 17th, 2009

Charming left this life very peacefully on Wednesday, after a lovely last drive through the hay-scented evening. I can see him running with his friends in dog heaven, bolting after small creatures, swimming in streams and ponds, rolling in the tall grass, or, preferably, powdery snow.

Lately, my writing prompts have run to list-making, so as I've been remembering every little thing about him, I've been making lists of all the things that made him his Charming self. His adventures, his few misdeeds, all his quirks. For instance:
1) when we first met, when I went down to Trenton NJ to get him, how he jumped right in the truck, happy from the first to go with me
2) how he'd take off on toots from the farmhouse where we first lived together, and always be gone exactly 3 hours, usually from 10pm-1am
3) how during a meeting of my writing group, after everyone had been admiring a lovely glossy brown loaf of millet bread that I'd put on the table with some goat cheese for our snack, Charming jumped up on the table, snatched said loaf and devoured it while we were in the next room (Charming happened to be missing a back leg).
4) how he'd always greet every day with joy, bouncing on the bed to get me up so we could both enjoy it

So, this weekend, concentrate on your favorite person in the world, on all the things you love and that drive you mad and make you laugh until you cry. List them, write about at least one in detail. I hope you are able to have a peaceful and joyous few days, in Charming's honor.

Happy Every Precious Day

My lovely, 15-year-old, most perfect dog, Charming, is in his last days. (See photo, right) I've been spending every moment I can with him, waking and sleeping. It is such a privilege to be with him, to help him to be happy and comfortable. Holding him, helping him eat a little, carrying him around when he's a little logy and too weak to walk. It makes me realize how precious every day is with the creatures we love, with the beauty that surrounds us.

This week, look around you. What is precious to you? Who is precious to you? Appreciate them. Write them, draw them. Love every precious day.

Happy Taking Tea

I love tea. Sitting down with a book and a cup of tea is one of the high points of my day (or actually, a few of the high points, as I have multiple cups, and reads). But it's even better when I invite a friend to tea. Make some lavender cookies, or apricot scones. Maybe in another incarnation, even one in the upcoming years -- I will have a tea shop, and be able to have this experience on a daily basis. Sharing tea and stories can't be beat. Since we've been having rainy, humid, coldish weather, a tea break with a friend is even more necessary.

So I advise you to invite a friend for tea, coffee, a martini, with appropriate snacks sometime this weekend. Go out for tea, at a tearoom or perhaps a museum near you. Around the Pioneer Valley and Berkshires, I can recommend Amherst Coffee and Tea, or Rao's, (also in Amherst)for a hipper crowd. If you want to go all out, hit The Mount, Edith Wharton's house in Lenox, and have tea on the veranda overlooking the lovely gardens -- although that's a little pricey, $16 for admission, then the tea. But maybe best of all is serving tea in the comfort of your home, with a friend or friends for company. Then write it, draw it.

Happy With The Small Things...

Had a good weekend. Planted stuff. Tomatoes, cucumbers, brussels sprouts. Of course, basil. Hurt all over, but slept a lot and felt better. Did not go to the Cow Parade, but did go to dog agility trials on Saturday, with friend Aimee. As always, it was a hoot. I love seeing all the dogs, of every ilk. And it's really hilarious watching people 'walk' the course. Really, most of them dance it, signalling and talking to their imaginary dogs. It's as much fun as watching the real runs, maybe better. We sat in lawnchairs in the sun and got burned and dehydrated and had ice cream after, and then wicked headaches from not drinking enough water. The most perfect, simple summer day.

This week, reflect on all the simple and wonderful things in your life. Dogs, basil, ice cream, sunlight or rain, whatever floats your boat. Things that don't cost much, but are wonders in their way. Write them, draw them. And be grateful.

Happy At The Cow Parade

Tomorrow, if all goes well, I'm going to a cow parade. Sounds exotic, right? It's a celebration of Vermont's dairy and farming industries, and is held in Brattleboro, VT the first weekend in June every year, in case you're interested. And yes, the cows do parade up the Main street, cow flops and all. it's quite a sight, and no one can help being happy, at least for the duration of the mooing, bellowing parade.

So, to celebrate the wierd and wacky in your life, do something unusual this weekend. If there's not a cow parade in a town near you, try for the next best thing. Something odd and out there, even if it's only odd to you. Go to a darts tournament, a Titanic Museum, highland games where guys hurl big rocks while wearing skirts. Then write it, draw it! And have some fun!

Happy Digging In the Dirt

Since I've been feeling pretty punk this month (fibromyalgia rearing its ugly head since Easter), I've been trying to get enough exercise, but sometimes I'm so spaced out I can't drive to the gym. Of course, I walk my dogs every day, but I also need upper body exercise, which I swear is the best thing for this idiotic condition. I used to do a lot of gardening, but have been procrastinating this year. My mum's garden is overshadowed now by big hemlocks and pines that were two feet high when I was a baby. Makes me feel my age. But on Thursday, when I went to support the arts and purchase the local high school literary magazine from a friend who's daughter has a poem in, my kind friend also gave me clumps of rose campion, anise, a pepper plant, and three beefsteak tomato seedlings. I got real value for my $10! So, I had to get the garden going, dig a bed in a sunny spot. Which I did last night, in the midst of wild weather, high winds, an impending freeze. I got my upper body work-out, and that lovely satisfaction that comes from forgetting where and who I am while digging out weeds and stirring earth.

So, this week, find your equivalent. Do some digging, or running, or other outdoor exercise that frees your mind and engages you with the earth in some way. Then write it/draw it.