Childhood crushes

I got tagged by Erin to write about my childhood crushes.  I wonder if I have to do them in order.

I had a crush on someone, at least one someone, every year of school.  Andrew in Kindergarten, I think.  In 4th grade, one of my crushes was on Anthony Oshevsky.  I used to sit in his desk chair with him.  We had such skinny butts then that two of us could fit in the chair of his child-sized desk.

I also had a crush on my 4th grade teacher, Mr. Sharpe.  I think is name was Robert Sharpe.  It was his first year teaching, he was young and cute and friendly and nice.  I did NOT have a crush on my 6th grade teacher, Mr. Armstrong, who let us play the whole year.  He was nice but too old to have a crush on.  He was a grownup.  A grownup who liked to play.

One of my most embarrassing crushes was on Mike Sullivan.  My best friend, Dot, had a crush on him too.  We used to ride our bikes back and forth in front of his house for hours at a time every day.  How uncool.  He was really cute.  He had a buzz cut.  All the boys did, then.  Blue eyes, a roundish face.  And a sort of hip swagger.  I don't think he ever once looked my way.

Then, worse yet, I had a crush on Gary Sommers.  He was a friend of Mike Sullivan's, and he was mean to me.  He called me Horsehair.  I wore my hair in braids, and that was very uncool.  He was so persistent about it that Mike Sullivan and all his friends and finally everyone started calling me that.  I hated him for it, but I STILL had a crush on him.  He was a year ahead of me in school so I only saw him at the bus stop.  And on the bus, where he would pull my hair and throw things at me.

My most recent crush, before I met Keith, as an adult was on Bill H.  I still think he is really cute.  But not as cute as Keith.  It's nice to actually have a real man to love.

William Henry Channing quote

To live content with small means, to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich;
To study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly; to listen to stars and birds, to babes and sages, with open heart; to bear all cheerfully, do all bravely, await occasions, hurry never;
To let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common.
This is to be my symphony.

Wonderful  Wish I could do better at living my version of this.

(Quote sent by Sara.)

Thankful for

Gratefulness List, Thanksgiving, 2006

I am grateful for:

Ø    My beautiful intelligent, gifted and healthy children, Sara, Erin and Graham
Ø    My handsome, intelligent, loving husband Keith
Ø    All my wonderful loving and gifted friends
Ø    A nice house
Ø    Finally being moved
Ø    Relative good health
Ø    Trees
Ø    Birds
Ø    Beauty
Ø    The ability to love and appreciate beauty
Ø    Opportunities
Ø    Sleep, especially sweet relaxed sleep
Ø    My patient husband
Ø    Poetry
Ø    Art
Ø    Photography
Ø    Gear (to take photos, do art, write poems, go hiking)
Ø    My Chef husband who makes delicious breakfasts (like curried shrimp omelettes Thanksgiving morning!)
Ø    My sweet son who teaches me about doing animations
Ø    Fog, for its beauty

And lots, lots more!  :-D


--
I am certain of nothing but the Heart's affections and the truth of the Imagination- John Keats
Mary

Two more from B'l'Isle

Belle Isle by Bike

It had warmed up substantially by the time we left home for Belle Isle. I wore long johns, jeans and wind pants, a leather jacket with a fleece under it. It wasn't cold on the way there, but boy did it cool off when the sun went down! Brrr--I was cold coming back!

delay

Keith's Mom's garage door was stuck down and Keith went over to help her.  She needed to get Paul and couldn't get her car out.  SO there's been a delay in getting out into the "nice" weather.

the sun and the ice

Keith just called to say that "since it is so nice out (huh?), we should go for a ride on our motorcycles.  Sunny, yes.  Nice?  Not.  Cold is  not "nice."  But I said OK.  We are leaving at 3, hopefully.

3 Women

I finished the book I've been reading, Three Women, by Marge Piercy. Phew. I had to sit and cry and cry and I felt a need for stillness. Such, love and struggle and pain. Such choices. My eyes hurt, but it was a worthy book. A good book. At least, I thought so. Not everyone agrees, but it was good for me. It would also be a good book to read and discuss with family. There are end of life issues that could be clarified by reading and discussing it. I feel as if I need to take a little break before I start my next book so this one can digest and settle. (Phew!) I feel a sense of deep grief as if the story had happened to me personally.

I read a hard cover version with a different picture.

Sunny

It's sunny outside and looks like it might be warm so I run out in my shirtsleeves with a little treat for the squirrels.  But it's not warm!  There's a layer of ice, not a thin wafer, but a solid chunk of ice in the birdfeeder.  It's nippy, to say the least!

At The Mongolian Grille

Soon to go out of business! :-( 

Next installment of poem with John Bellinger

John Bellinger and I are writing a poem together.  :-)

It is still in progress.

In the Hapgood Cottage and on the road home, 11/16&17/85

11/16/85

In the small cold room at the top of the back stairway of the Hapgood Summer Cottage where the Nilsons live, a cat is kneading my green down sleeping bag and purring loudly. I don't know if it's Middle Nerd or Baby Nerd. I guess it was Big Nerd that died or disappeared. I had Teber, too, for a while., but Teber went to Judy who is sleeping with Eowyn. The girls are in their bunk and Roy Strider is in his room. Marilyn has gone to Boston to get Big Roy in the snowstorm, which seems to have turned to sleet.

Judy read all 7 1/2 finished chapters of my latest book, Quest to Eowyn, Roy, Sara, Erin and me. I kept hearing mistakes, but Eowyn and Roy really liked it, I guess, from what they said. Tomorrow, we must go home. Monday, it's back to work.

11/17/85

7:40 AM It's been raining quite hard for a long time, but the snow is not all melted. Fog and mist hangs over the snow and the trees and bushes are wet black against the white and fading away. One of the Nerd cats slept on my pillow next to my face all night. It is black and white and purred constantly. The house is silent. The dog has been in to pee on the floor in the girls' room.

Now the children are all downstairs practicing and I've got almsot everything packed. Soon we will head out on the road. Hope the driving is better than it looks.

2:24 PM Erin threw up. She got out of the car and walked through the snow in her bare feet to barf into the ditch. The car smells terrible with exhaust fumes (I'd like to barf myself from the heat and fumes) and I opened the window but Sara screamed she was freezing. We are all tired and grouchy. I have a splitting headache.

3:15 PM I gave the girls the last of my money to get something to eat in Burger King in Adams Mass. I'm sitting in the car. I gave Judy $5 toward gas and have nothing left to get anything for myself. I said I wasn't hungry. I'm sitting alone in the car while they all eat. I am glad to be alone for a few minutes in the quiet car with the rain falling and sliding down the windshield and the window rolled down a little. I'll rummage in the fridge when I get home if I'm not too tired.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you have a wonderful, loving, healthy and grateful day and have lots ot be grateful for. See my turkey hand Thankgiving card here! Mary :-D

Click that image to see a larger version.

reading report

I don't have time to go to Amazon and copy the cute little icons of the covers of books.  It's nearly noon and I haven't had breakfast and before I do, I have to do my sit--ups.  I've been trying to catch up on reading the blog posts I've missed by being off line in Pennsylvania.  There are so MANY!  They are fun, but it takes time.  I am also way behind on my email and my unpacking and even my snailmail!

I am reading one book:  Three Women by Marge Piercy.  I am loving it.  But it is very upsetting.  It was building to a huge confrontation for a long time and yesterday at lunch, I got to the confrontation, so instead of reading just the lunch's worth of pages, I read a lot more, until I got to the end of that longish section.  Then I read a little more while I was baking cookies.

Keith is also reading to us at reading time, just before bedtime.  He is reading Dragonsinger to Graham and I, by Anne McCaffrey (*wonderful!) and Oxaca Journal by Oliver Sacks to me.  We missed a great deal while I was away for almost two weeks.  By the way, the chapters in Dragonsinger are too long for reading aloud.  If you ever write a book (a novel), keep the chapters manageable for aloud reading, please.

I've been listening to books on tape while traveling.  Recent ones include:  One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey (I loved it!) and Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison (excellent).  Now I am listening to Ciderhouse Rules by John Irving.  There are 17 tapes and 25 hours of listening and I am about halfway through and trying to figure out how I can listen in the house.  I may have to wait until my next trip.  It's wonderful so far, the characters are so well-drawn.

Foot Photo Friday

My new shoes (Keens) on my motocycle dashboard. 

80

before I married

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 80 people with my old name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

18 people named Mary Taitt

There are 18 people in the USA with my new name. I don't know how accurate it is, though. No one is listed in the USA with my son's name.

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 18 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

My wish list

Erwin says that I would like Breaking open the Head by Daniel Pinchbeck , so I'm putting that on my wishwish, LOL!

Also The Lady and the Panda: The True... by Vicki Croke

The wishlist is a hopeless mess.  :-(

Closing reception, November 10

The public is invited to a

Closing Reception

for

"Baker's Dozen"

An eclectic assortment of works by 13 Central New York Artists

Friday November 10, 6 - 8pm

May Memorial Art Gallery

3800 East Genesee St. Syracuse

Marna Bell Frank Caledone Joseph Cerio John Fitzsimmons Harry Freeman Jones

Holly Knott Mick Mather Marilyn Nosewicz Mary Stebbins Taitt Thomas Steiner Margaret Walden

Deborah Walsh Joan Applebaum

I have two pieces in this show but will not be able to attend because I will be in Pennsylvania doing a poetry reading.

Frost and Snow

I woke up this morning to snow on the ground.  Not a lot, not even as much as last time.  It's little round pellets cupped in the leaves as if each one were serving some frosty delight.  And frosty it is, a good thick white frost which is still heavy on the roofs and car tops but faded from the warmer earth.  The leaves are dropping like rain, as if the frost had released their lifegrip on the trees.

Upcoming Readings

I haven't been blogging much because I have two upcoming poetry readings and an new art show opening.  I spent the morning so far revising a poem from 1981 or before for those readings.  One was supposed to be held at Laci's at the Farmer's Market in Syracuse, NY at 7 PM on November 4th, but I've just learned that the owner has a family medical emergency in Florida and the event might be canceled or postponed.  Since I was planning on driving 8 or 9 hours to get the the event, I hope I learn what's going on with it soon, as I was planning on leaving the day after tomorrow.  Meanwhile, my best wishes and prayers to the owner and her family!