Z is for Zapped!

Z!  We are up to letter Z now!  We have completed the entire alphabet - again!

To celebrate the occasion I thought I would share one of my very favorite ABC books.

   Today, we can find many unique and quirky ABC books.  No longer do we have to settle for A is for apple, B is for Boy, Z is for Zebra.  Today there are ABC books featuring insects (with the exception of honeybee, I think they should all be listed under Y for Yuck!)  There are ABC books for each state.  Louisiana's A is for andouille or alligator, B is for beignet.  Virginia's features several of our early presidents.  New York's books feture eveyrthing from S is for subway, E is for Ellis Island - these are just a few that come to mind.  There are ABC books about space, about the ocean, about the rainforest, about ecology, computers, and the lists go on and on. In fact, someone could write an ABC book about ABC books!!!

But, years ago, when my son was a small boy, there were mostly the cute littl Apple, Baby, Cat, Dog, Yak, Zebra books.  They were usually beautifully illustrated and served their purpose well.  Except - when you have a little guy who is past the cute little baby, toddler stage, but not quite read for quantum physics, well there needed to be something in between.  An ABC book that would  keep a 4  year old interested in learning more, new, and interesting words.  Then, one day -


                                          The Z Was Zapped! by Chris Van Allsburg! 

Written and illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg ( the creator of the perfect Christmas book, Polar Express) - The Z Was Zapped takes us through the alphabet in 26 little vignettes inwhich each little letter meets with a - shall we say - a less than cutsie little ending.

The Z was zapped by lightening.  The P is pecked by a raven.  The C is cut to ribbons! The F, flattened by a foot!  The A is done in by an avalanche! Oh the whole alphabet meets with clever demises!

Well,  for Elliott, this was just the best book! Finally, a little action from the letters.  Of course, each letter received a personal little sound effect and choreographed performance! He adored the book and frankly, I adored reading the book with him. 

If you haven't seen the book, check it out at the library.  In fact, check out other Van Allsburg books. Two Bad Ants, Jumani, Polar Express and on and on.  A collection of books that will entertain, delight and enchant both child and adult.


Participating in the AlphabeThursday project has been a great deal of fun and sometimes a challenge.  If you are looking for a way to get yourself into the habit of blogging, looking for a way to challenge your writing, or just wanting to enjoy reading some of the very creative blogs out there, please, join us as we begin our next round of AlphabeThursday!  You can find it by clicking on the link to the right.

Y is for Yippee!!!!! Yahoo!!!

Yippee, yahoo! Yes! Y  is for celebration and dancing with delight!

My sweet son, Elliott and the love of his life, the divine Sarah have set a date for their wedding!!

June 14, 2014 is the big day!  Hearing the excitement and happiness in their voices when they share news and updates is like a gift each time they call.

My husband, Artie and I are delighted for the both of them.  Love and best wishes to the both of them and
this fun filled, hectic, exciting, wild ride over the next year as they plan for their big day!

Solve for X or How I Flunked Algebra - twice!

Arithmetic, math, whatever the newest term is, has been one of the sorrows of my life.  From the time I was little math made it's business each day to see how crazed I could become while enduring math time, math class, math anything.  (The word 'enduring' is not an exaggeration. It was torture. Every day.)

Now, of course, many many years later, I realize that I have some degree of dyscalcula. Numbers and I still loathe each other.

Which brings me to the letter X.

How I got into Algebra I - I haven't a clue.  I think the last teacher just got tired of seeing my tear stained face and sent me to the big leagues just to get rid of me..  Math with letters.  Umm...wait a minute....math (that's numbers right?).so when did the alphabet decide to join in.  What fresh hell was this??

My precious letters, my alphabet, my word makers - had they forsaken me?  Me who got a big fat ZERO in most of my math work throughout school,  could read and write at the high school level in third grade. (Although I have to admit, there was a major abscence of any numbers in my stories.)

So, I sat down in this Algebra I class on the first day.  I went with a heavy heart but determined to try.
I had my notebook, I had my pencils, my erasers  - a whole pack, in fact).  I was ready. I was willing. I was screwed. 

There on the black board was the equation:

 a(2) x 15 + 27B - X = 33         

Solve for X.

Up went my hand.  May I have the restroom pass please?  (Since the teacher gave me the pass, with less than 5 minutes into the first day of the school year, I assume the old teacher had clued the new one in on my ongoing love affair with numbers.)

Out the door, down the staircase and through the hallway I went. And suddenly, I got a little spring in my step.  I realized I may not know what the heck the number X looks like but I certainly knew where
"X marks the spot"  - to the girls' bathroom.

Today, numbers continue to mock me, but so what? I don't remember one thing from that algebra class - BUT I can still tell you where every girls' bathroom was in Bryant High School!

                                                                       *  *   *  *

We are almost through the alphabet and will be starting a new round soon.  So, why not give it a whirl and click on the link to the right to join in the fun of Alphabe-Thursday, hosted by Jen Matlock. 

Weeds! Glorious weeds!

W is for weeds!  That's right! Weeds!.  I have to admit this - I really kind of like them. It's lots of fun when taking a walk along the roadside to look at what is growing there and see a pretty little flower, a nice looking leafy plant, a strange tree.  I even do it when I am a passenger in a car zooming along the highways.  There's lots of very interesting things growing in the most unusual places!

I was rather pleased to find this quote -


"My idea of gardening is to discover something wild in my wood and weed around it with the utmost care until it has a chance to grow and spread."

- Margaret Bourke-White

Evidently, other people do the same thing I do!  Look for pretty in the ditches, look for lovely on the sidewalk, in crevices and cracks along the sidewalks.   Right now I have wood violets growing in places all over my yards. In pots of peonies,  in beds filled with daylilies busy growing.  What started out as a little patch of violets in the backyard has spread to the side yards and today, I found a few in the front yard too!  I have Virginia creeper growing along one whole area of fence because I like how it looks, and I don't care if it's a weed. 

I remember seeing wild chicory growing along the railroad tracks when I was little and I thought they were the most beautiful!  And, who would turn their nose up at the rogue daylilies that blanket the sides of the lanes on rural roads.  And, what about Queen Anne's Lace?  A weed? Hah! I say.  Who would name a weed after a queen?  They look like summer time snowflakes bobbing in the breeze!  And clover? Who would say no to clover when the bunnies come to nibble early in the mornings while you drink coffee on the pack porch? 

A few years ago I was very actively involved in a journaling round robin group and one of the pieces I made for the book was about weeds.  I was pleased with it, as I was with all the work I did for that project. I thought I would share it with you as part of my celebration of the letter W!

Weeds are nature's graffiti. ~Janice Maeditere

(and P.S., yes, I think the graffitti on subway cars is interesting too!  They remind me of circus train cars!)

If you'd like the join us at AlphabeThursday, click on the link to the right.  We would love to have you join us!

Van Gogh and the kiddie and me

Suzanne is home from the hospital and will continue her antibiotic regime here for a bit longer.  Hopefully, she will continue to improve.  Thank all of you for the kind words and prayers.  They helped greatly.


Vincent Van Gogh is a particular favorite of both Suzanne and I.    Each of us has a favorite painting and I thought it would be nice to share them with you.

Mine is a painting called "Blossoming Almond Tree".  I think that one of the reasons I like this painting is because it was painted by the artist in celebration of the birth of the first child of his beloved brother, Theo.  The baby, a boy, was named Vincent and Van Gogh was named his godfather.    He painted this beautiful canvas to express his joy and hope for the health and happiness of this little boy.  After it was completed, he presented it to the parents with instructions to hang it above the baby's bed so he would be able to see it all of the time. In a letter written by Theo's wife to Vincent, she expresses the baby's delight in looking at the brilliantly colored work.    I like the idea that in a life that was filled with much sadness, much struggle, Van Gogh was able to paint something that represented joy and promise, it is rather like a symbol of his continued  hope.

Suzanne's favorite is the painting considered to be  Van Gogh's most famous work," The Starry Night"., This beautiful and beguling piece was done by Vincent when he was staying in an asylum in Ste. Remy-de-Provence, France.

When I was a teen, Don MacLean wrote and performed a song called  "Vincent".  The songs lyrics are as follows - ,

Starry, starry night.

Paint your palette blue and grey,

Look out on a summer's day,

With eyes that know the darkness in my soul.

Shadows on the hills,

Sketch the trees and the daffodils,

Catch the breeze and the winter chills,

In colors on the snowy linen land.

Now I understand what you tried to say to me,

How you suffered for your sanity,

How you tried to set them free.

They would not listen, they did not know how.

Perhaps they'll listen now.

Starry, starry night.

Flaming flowers that brightly blaze,

Swirling clouds in violet haze,

Reflect in Vincent's eyes of china blue.

Colors changing hue, morning field of amber grain,

Weathered faces lined in pain,

Are soothed beneath the artist's loving hand.

Now I understand what you tried to say to me,

How you suffered for your sanity,

How you tried to set them free.

They would not listen, they did not know how.

Perhaps they'll listen now.

For they could not love you,

But still your love was true.

And when no hope was left in sight

On that starry, starry night,

You took your life, as lovers often do.

But I could have told you, Vincent,

This world was never meant for one

As beautiful as you.

Starry, starry night.

Portraits hung in empty halls,

Frameless head on nameless walls,

With eyes that watch the world and can't forget.

Like the strangers that you've met,

The ragged men in the ragged clothes,

The silver thorn of bloody rose,

Lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow.

Now I think I know what you tried to say to me,

How you suffered for your sanity,

How you tried to set them free.

They would not listen, they're not listening still.

Perhaps they never will...



Here is a lovely YouTube link to the song and the painting that you might enjoy -

http://youtu.be/nkvLq0TYiwI

(when you get there, click on fullscreen and click on delete annotations to see a collection of Vincent's beautiful work!)

Join us at Alaphbe-Thursday by clicking on the link to the left. You will be glad you did.  This is a wonderful way to get some writing in, as well as getting into a routine of posting to your blog - not to mention you will meet lots of great fellow bloggers!

U is for unable, unavailable and ugh!

This week's letter U is for unable, unavailable and UGH!!!

I am not home. I am at the hospital with my kiddie - again.  She has double pneumonia, again. 

I shall return next week, (fingers crossed!, knock on wood, please please please) to continue the alphabet. Especially since the letter V is next.  V...vexed, vile, villianous...oh the possibilities are voluminous (and possibly venomous!!)

See you then.

T is for Trompe l'Oeil

What do all of these things have in common?

None of them are real.   The horse, the doggies, the sushi, the buildings features, the fish and the papers and the creepy little green lizardo - all painted by some very brilliantly talented people!  They are all masters of the painting technique known as Trompe l'Oeil.

Trompe l'Oeil is French for 'to fool the eye' - a style of painting that creates the illusion of realistic looking, three dimensional objects.