The Good, The Beautiful, The Bliss

Jun 10, 2012 | This Life

This photo was taken for a photo tour of my house a few years back. But I go back to it often, because it sums us up. On the porch, having tea, together. 


In a few short days (Saturday) IZ and I will celebrate 22 years together. Married.  We don’t count those years before because that number is getting ridiculously large!

Wedded bliss? Um, sometimes.

Wedded strife? Um, sometimes.

Mostly, it’s two people committed to striving together. And that in itself, is a beautiful thing.

It’s the nature of marriages, any marriage. You bump into things you weren’t expecting. Life hands you lemons. You make lemonade or margaritas. You squabble. You row. You fight. You endeavor toward intimacy. And it’s not always pretty.

But I choose to write about the good. The beautiful. The bliss. And I will continue to do so, despite the recent impulse of the  blogosphere to bare its soul. While I applaud the willingness of bloggers to get real and share the hard stuff. To forsake, if only for a few moments, the urge to “pretty it up” and make it seem presentable. When it comes to my marriage, I blog the beauty.

I’ll show you my laundry. And the works in progress. And weeds in the yard along with the before pictures and the posts about failed recipes. I’ll tell you that I struggle with my weight and staying on task and being charitable to neighbors who kill my roses.

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Now, With More Cow Bell

May 1, 2012 | This Life

I’ve moved the party over here —-> Come join me. (I may or may not pick up this blog in the future. I may or may not write a farewell post. But, it’s been 10 years of blogging here… and well… it’s time for a change. Change is good.) Don’t think of this as an end, but as a beginning.

Eat Your Veg

Mar 30, 2012 | This Life

Yay for the CSA. I know what we’re doing with everything in the box except for the kale. Any suggestions?

Our Picture

Mar 22, 2012 | This Life

Will you let me take our picture?


“Will you let me take our picture?”

“Sure? What should I do?”

“Just hold my hand.”


My head is a jumbled mess. I’ve been reading some amazing writing* online. Which is a blessing and a relief. Good writing always is. But it also reminds me that I’ve not been writing on this blog, not really.

To my mind, blogging and writing are different things. They often converge and that’s lovely. But not always. Me putting up a picture with a few words below it is blogging, barely. I wouldn’t call it writing.  You might not agree with the distinction, but I’m loath to use language like “real” or “good” or heaven forbid, “literary” to describe the difference. Wait, wait, you’ll know (real) writing when you read it? I’m not sure that’s even true with Porn, so um, no on writing. You can see how I’m consoling myself, right?

Traipsing through my archives might make the point better. I’m not observing anymore. Let’s face it, every new blogger has a tank full of observations just waiting to get out. Crawling to the surface, it’s blood lust, to put the words on paper. But eventually, you run out of a steady stream of lovely turns of phrases and witty antidotes about standing in the grocery line at Whole Foods. Your three year old grows up. You sleep again, the words no longer playing bouncy house in your subconscious.

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Gray Scale to Nothing

Mar 20, 2012 | This Life

A gray scale start to spring. . .

I feel like I’m sneaking back into the room, walk of shame style. Shimmying into my skirt and patting my hair down. Not that I’d know anything about that except what I’ve seen on television. I haven’t exactly been present on this blog for the past few weeks. I’ve been, um, busy.

And life has been particularly distracting as of late. It’s hard to get motivated (much less photograph anything) in this perma gray. Plus the state of our house is always a constant distraction. There’s lots going on, most of it good in the “this is getting resolved” sort of way—but nothing I want to write about. Honestly, I’m anxiously awaiting the “let’s fix this mess” part of the program.  Writing about paint colors is so much more interesting than writing about signing legal documents.

But we have to slog through the legal mire first. That takes time and resources and energy. Energy I’d rather put elsewhere; and it leaves me with nothing but whiney posts I refuse to write. Or posts that I can’t write.

Not that it’s all bad. Some of life is ridiculously good. Really good. . . (she says with an *arched * eyebrow). But I’ve been informed by IZ that there are lines I shouldn’t cross.  And while it’s really fun to watch him turn six shades of red and squirm, “You CAN’T Blog that!” in truth, I probably wouldn’t anyhow.  So this is me, walking up to the line and smiling.

No, what this blog needs is a little forced sunshine. Some flowers. Some chocolate. Some romance, or at least a few paint chips. It needs Spring to show up already!  And while I can’t promise any of that will arrive in the next few days, I can promise to work on it. You know, when I’m not so busy.*