a note from polis, on the northern coast of cyprus

terribly sorry about the lag in posts. the one computer with a dial up connection at our place of residence is coin operated and usless piece of piddle. it's eaten up my money and frozen on several occasions, sometimes on its own accord typing a single letter over and over and over again until my time runs out.

i've found a lovely internet cafe in town and am drinking illy espresso while i type. sure beats the the nescafe espresso i've been plagued with.

aaaah, coastal bliss. after a week of fun in nicosia, the capitol city, we are now residing in a small flat in ayia marina, on the north west coast. we are near a lovely village called polis, where i sit now. i don't have much time and i don't know when i'll make it to this internet cafe again, so i will attempt to give you a synopsis of the days.

week one/nicosia, cyprus:

we stayed in a fine hotel called "the classic" within the venetian walls of the old city. a lot of time was spent walking up and down ledra street -- a sort of pedestrian mall with the likes of starbucks, mcdonalds, traditional tavernas, shoe stores, and the green line dividing the cypriots and the turks.

while in nicosia i visited a few museums:

1) the cyprus museum, a house full of archeological wonders which i mentioned in a previous post.

2) the handicraft museum, the byzantine icon museum and the modern art museum all within the archbishop's palace. while there a minor hurricane hit and tashi and i sat on a covered balcony watching the rain travel in horizontal slabs as the palm trees bent and swayed. the paved grounds all around the archbishopric filled with about eight inches of water and we had to wade out. the streets were flooded, angry cypriot drivers in a bottle neck were cursing each other, and then we witnessed a collison. a fine day of art and weather.

3) the state gallery of contemporary cypriot art. it was my first time visiting this awesome neo-classical house full of incredible art work. i loved it. i wish i could include some pictures here, but i don't have time. some of my favorite artists were constantinos yiannicouris, adamantios diamantis, andreas-antis ioannides, telemachos kanthos, john corbidge (he made a painting of me when i was about three), angelos makrides, christophoros savva. to name a few. now repeat those all with your eyes closed.

and of course there was family, family, family in cyprus, my godmother, and my childhood friend olga. i had souvlaki five nights in a row.

last thursday my mother, my aunt tina, tashi and i departed from nicosia in our rental car. we drove through a clay pot making village, kornos, and chatted with the old ladies forming the thick red pots. we drove through lefkara, the lace making village, but a storm hit and it was too rainy to get out and enjoy the sights. then we went to apollo's temple perched above the sea, followed by kourion, an ancient amphitheater and archeological site also perched above the sea. we looked at mosaics and ruins and pillars and then went down to a beach where tashi and i splashed around in some big waves. and then onward to ayia marina, our home until our departure at the end of july.

our first day in this area was spent swimming in strong waves, driving as far east along the northern coast as permissible before hitting the cypriot/turk partition, and eating awesome fresh fish and calamari.

the next day was spent hiking into a breezy gorge, swimming in a rocky cove, and driving on twisty dirt roads through abandoned crumbling villages. we saw loads of goats of all shapes, sizes and colors, some with straight horns, some with curly horns, some with beards, many with spots. they were perched on rocky cliff sides, standing on old tin cans eating the leaves off of tree branches, crowding the road in front of the car, lolling about in the shade. crumbling stone structures, or small caves built into the cliffs, cropped up here and there where the sheep herders sleep. tashi and i fed grass to donkeys and watched partridges scoot along the road.

a bit of flora and fauna includes bright violet bouganvilla, white and pink oleander, aromatic jasmine, gardenia and geranium, purple thistles, luscious grape vines, olive, carob, juniper, cedar, eucalyptus. . .

today my mother and aunt tina are going to drop tashi and i off at the hippy beach by the campground. we discovered it last night, a clean, sandy, shallow, calm stretch with umbrellas and lounge chairs along a fragrant stand of eucalyptus. you can view the the akamis penninsula to the west and the pomos pennisula to the east. most of the beaches so far have been rough with deep drop offs which is difficult for tashi, but this one is perfect. and because it is close to a campground, i call it the hippy beach! it is clean with a snack bar and we are going to have a relaxing day while my mom and aunt visit monasteries in the mountains.

ciao, for now!

duality

it is siesta time in cyprus, a good time for me to visit the internet cafe while tashi hangs out in the air conditioned hotel room with yia yia. i like the baking feel of the heat against my sun screen slathered skin. though i do need a big floppy hat. and right now in this cafe, there is big oscillating fan cooling my back.

we had lunch today in small family run taverna with checked tablecloths and caged birds. we had meat & rice stuffed vegetables, pork afelia (wine marinated pork w/ coriander), roasted potatoes, bulgur, thick amazing yogurt, fresh crusty bread, a cooling salad of lettuce, tomotoes, olives and cucumber, lemonade, cyprus coffee and a sip of ouzo.

today is a special day for me. i now officially have dual american and cypriot citizenship. my cypriot ID card was issued this morning, and on friday my cypriot passport should be ready. i feel like dancing on tables and breaking plates.

yesterday we visited the cyprus museum where i got to marvel at statues of aphrodite, artemis, bacchus, zeus, and appreciate stories painted on pots, and ogle ancient jewelery and read about the looting of ancient treasures.

aside from the love of being here, there are some odd family dynamics to navigate, not the least of which is mother's and mine. but we'll survive.

yasoo!

alive and well on ledra street

here we are in nicosia, cyprus. the journey was epic and the first night was sleepless and hot at my uncle's partner's condo by the sea, a lovely place except for the mouse sized coakroaches. we awoke after just a couple of hours of sleep and jumped in the beautiful, cool, cleansing sea. we are now tucked away in a decent hotel in the old part of the capital city where we will visit many relatives. last night was souvlaki and greek mezze at a restaurant next to "the green line" with my three bearded uncles. the green line is the division between the turkish occupied part of cyprus and cypriot cyprus. the is a big sign there that says, "the last divided capital." pictured above is a lookout point on the green line where you can weep and gaze over at the turkish side.

tashi continues to be a great traveler despite the heat, hassles and sleep deprivation. though right now she is very bored watching me email and blog. i will sign off and pay my fee and we will walk the hot cobbled streets back to our hotel where we will luxuriate in air conditioning until lunchtime. sorry this post is a bit dull, more adventures ahead.

from london heathrow airport

i am spending too much money on 15 minutes of computer time.

we boarded our flight from dulles airport yesterday evening, only to sit there for almost three hours. all take offs were "suspended" due to a storm on the horizon. no storm materialized, but i guess i should be glad that they are watching out for us. then when we got to london the flight had to circle around in figure eights for about 20 minutes until it got the all clear to land. the lines we had to stand in to get to our connecting flight were unbelievable. needless to say, we missed our connecting flight to cyprus. we are booked on the next flight which should be boarding shortly.

i have had two 30 minute cat naps but that is about it in over 24 hours. i'm dizzy. tashi would not sleep on the flight and was up for a good 24 hours herself. she's now crashed out on a bench. with my mom watching over her.

this airport is more like a shopping mall. a really expensive shopping mall. i never thought i would do such a thing, but i paid money to take a shower. after virginia humidity it was worth it. there are some fine showers in heathrow airport.

more soon from the next internet cafe!

midnight passage before little sleep followed by departure

today has been a surreal dissolving of one thing into the next. the rain turns into a broken cup.

packed and ready i am reminded of a box that belongs, now -- to a ghost.

a train crawls above the abyss, where one mountain joins another. . .

in the light of eternity i come back to myself, my small self. with a big bag packed full. under rain that makes heavy. the just-that-dark way of the clouds.

secret title: "i fed the assassin's horse"

hekatombs of blog

soon, i will breath in the mythical night. i will witness the dry eroded circumstance.

i will look into the eyes of the painter, the photographer and the reporter.

i will step into the vaults of the venetian wall.

i will massage the sun baked stone with my painted-toenail-toe.

i will face the moon carved sea and ask her to guide me.

rain, rain, come our way

hello from hotsville.

all week the forecast has been building up to an expected rain. it was supposed to commence on saturday and then on friday, first around 5:00 then around noon. but when i got out of work today i thought to myself, it's friday, after five, the sky is a picture of tender blue serenity, and off i pedalled to the charlottesville pavilion to hear eric lindell from new orleans. well first i had to shop around a bit for the fambly in cyprus. must arrive bearing gifts. then i had a spinach salad at eppies. by the time i arrived at the pavilion mr. lindell was well into his set and took a break after two songs. it sounded good and i was looking forward to more.

then i noticed people looking up at the sky and cocking their heads and speaking to one another in ominous tones. just because there were dark clouds to the south, east and north didn't necessarily mean rain, did it? i mean, there were no dark clouds to the west, where the weather is born. i decided to ignore everyone's fretting until somone said loudly, "we're going to get slammed." i didn't want to ride home in a thunder storm or a torrential downpour so i hauled ass out of there and arrived home to the hum of thunder. and then some fat drops fell. but as i write, there is still nothing to say i could not have survived another set of mr. lindell.

oh well. the cats were hungry and yelling at me anyway.

and i think the big pyrotechnic sigh of relief is coming our way. i hope so. because i couldn't even sleep in our bedroom last night, so much like an attic in the sahara it was. are there any attics in the sahara? well mine is.

ok, well, i think i'm going to go sit on the deck in the slow drops of rain and watch the storm roll in. happy weekend!

winding down or winding up

yup, just one week from today and it's airplane time. i try not to think about that part. even though i've traveled a lot, i've never been one to attest to a love of flying. especially in the new millenium. so we won't think about airplanes until we're on the way to the airport. i worry about cars too. especially when i have to drive them on the opposite side of the road.

over the weekend i was invited to local astrologer molly cliborne's house for a barbecue. the remarkable thing is that molly and i had never met, we'd merely exchanged a few words via the blog. but this kind trusting soul invited a complete stranger into her house for dinner, and i'm ever so glad. not only did i get to meet molly, who i'm certain is an extraordinary astrologer, i got to meet her boyfriend john, who will sell you a nice house if you'd like, and their groovy friend visiting from dc, christine davis, who is a massage therapist and dance instructor. cool things happened. like i found out that christine was born three days after me in the same year. and i was given a tour of molly's herb garden, where i saw lots of old friends, like nettle and yellow dock and red clover and passion flower vine and mullien and echinacea and catnip and comfrey, to name just a few. and i saw a bat and a cat and ate organic chicken cooked on a grill. i got to converse about doula stuff and cosmic stuff. i didn't get to see stevie the cat pee or poop in the toilet though, which she does regularly. but i'm so happy to have met some nice new friends. thanks molly!

on sunday i took the class christine davis was in charlottesville to teach, afri-cardio dance. i love it and would like to do it more, even if i am a klutz and not very polyrhythmic. darrell rose played djembe. as the dave matthews band website says, darrell rose is the "best african percussionist you're likely to find in the deep south." and he plays on the downtown mall almost every friday. it was good fun.

otherwise i've been working, and making neat little piles of things that i will take on my trip, and riding my bike back and forth, and purchasing things like razors and shaving cream and tampons and travel packets of kleenex and a multitude of airplane snacks. oh and i put together a binder of activities for tashi: coloring book pages, word searches, crossword puzzles, etc.

last night i watched a movie by cypriot director michael cacoyannis called, iphigenia, based on a tragedy by euripides about agememnon having to sacrifice his innocent young daughter so that the gods & goddesses would bring wind to the greek army, freeing them to set sale to troy. it was rather beautiful and sad and exciting and well done. plus it featured the music of mikis theodorakis, a righteous peace-loving greek composer.

and could it be hotter? why yes, it could. just add 90% humidity to the 90 degree temperature and you've got a mean southern summer.

anyhow, happy solstice.

Happy Father's Day

to the fathers in my life: my own father in new york city. the father of my child, currently in milwaukee. wishing you a sunny relaxing day full of creativity and smiles. wish i could give you both big hugs on this day, massage your feet, serve you breakfast in bed. but hopefully you can feel my love and admiration wash over the miles and flow into your hearts. thanks for all that you do. cheers!

a really old poem

girl still


time medic ticks root scrawl
girl still canvassing snarl
palpitations in pulp
gnash petal twist on sallow
salt lick clicks in-hall
in hillock kicking
warblers explode on over

on over warblers explode
vacillating hillocks fall dune
smoldering petals pigment
in-hall receding lick
canvas rolled scroll
ravels binding time
medics tick gnash and pulp
girl still quivering ash


zoe krylova, 1991

quiet as a mouse in my little house

this morning dan and tashi departed for wisconsin, leaving me alone in the red dust of charlottesville. since i'm already taking a month off of work to go to cyprus, i couldn't really add a trip to wisconsin on top of that.

once when i was a single woman i really savored my solitude. but i guess i've gotten pretty used to having either dan or tashi or both around. it was slightly eerie coming home to a house that would be inhabited by only me and two cats for almost two weeks. usually when i get home i launch into cooking an often elaborate dinner while listening to npr. today i ate tortilla chips and guacamole while watching the bbc on tv. after dinner is when we give tashi a bath. instead i gave myself a bath. usually around 7:30 we ask tashi to put on her pj's. instead i put mine on. and then we read to tashi, though tonight i simply read to myself. so eeriness turned to ease. though i already miss the hugs, the operatic singing and the very wet kisses. i was relieved around 8pm to hear two sweet voices on the phone safe at their stop-over in ann arbor.

my only vehicle is a bike while dan and tashi are away so i plan to get some exercise. hopefully that and the less elaborate meals will make some room for all the souvlaki, mousaka, village bread, haloumi cheese and fresh fish i plan to eat in cyprus.

we will leave for cyprus just a couple of days after dan and tashi return. june 28th to be exact. i haven't finished the iliad. and i haven't brushed up on my greek. maybe on the airplane?!?!

sunday spin

not that i have anything to say.

we're in the full swing of summer here, though the last couple of days have been delightfully cool. tashi had her last day of school on wednesday when we got to see her whole school pull out some great performances for the closing ceremony. we celebrated with lunch at milan, a favorite indian restaurant.

yesterday we went to the virginia renaissance faire in spotsylvania. it was probably the smallest ren faire i've ever been to, but fun and easy. we saw a recorder duet, a juggler/fire eater/contortionist dude, several young "highland dancers", a hammered dulcimer fellow, some nice lady singers, a knightly man and his wife, two pretty horses, several trippy alpacas, queen elizabeth, and mad maggie who was dragging around a bone on a rope.

today was a day of too much shopping, looking for gifts for various family members who have graduated or having an anniversary or will be celebrating a birthday or are fathers. we made the majority of our purhchases at the ten thousand villages shop which is all about fair trade goods. look for the ten thousand villages nearest you.

here is a story about an orange tabby like ours. grrrrrrrrrrrr!

WEST MILFORD, N.J., June 9, 2006 — At least one bear doesn't want to know Jack.

Jack is a 10-year-old, orange-and-white tabby in West Milford, N.J. And when the cat spotted the bear in a neighbor's yard earlier this week, the clawless kitty let the bear know who's boss.

The bear scurried up a tree and eyed the cat for 10 to 15 minutes, while Jack stared and hissed from the ground. The bruin inched its way down before jumping off and running away.

But Jack chased the bear into the brush and up another tree.

That's when Jack's owner realized what was happening and called her cat.

Jack's owner, Donna Dickey, told The Star-Ledger of Newark that Jack considers the area his turf and doesn't want anyone in his yard.

for the love of the weekend

oh the gloriousness of the beingness

last night we went to the pavilion for charlottesville's fridays after five. a grateful dead cover band called alligator was playing. at first i was grossed out by my own middle aged predicament. the band started and at the same time i saw three menopausal women in their office clothes dance a grateful dead dance complete with wavy hand gestures. it just kinda made me not want to go there. but really i have no choice in the matter do i?

so i played chase with tashi on the grassy embankment between the pavilion and belmont and about four songs before the concert ended i realized that really, this was a damn good jam band. i'd had enough red hook to make up for the lack of anything else and tashi was willing to dance with me and so we spun and grooved and then a kick ass thunder storm moved in and the whole audience crowded together and kids were laying down in torrents of water stained with red virginia earth and lightening was making a strobe and the south cooled off by about twenty degrees and the band was doing a good job imitating a job well done and the audience for a moment became one writhing entity. really it was a fine climax.

on the way home we saw the vulgar bulgars, a local klezmer band, performing in a doorway and so we stopped and boogied for a moment. and then we saw some african drummers and tribal dancers performing in another doorway and my heart yearned to do one or the other: play my djimbay or do an ancient dance. instead i said, "wow, what a mad little town we live in," and felt incredibly inspired.

today i went to an end of the year party at the home of one of tashi's classmates. there was a pool and a lake and horses and a hot tub. but what really made things come full circle is that the song playing when we walked into the party was saint stephen by the grateful dead.

i drank a good amount of white wine and talked with some very interesting people. i got to know some awesome parents who like to live a little on the wild side and this to me was a big relief. then i tried to commune with a horse. he was such a stud. he looked my way, walked my way a bit, ate some grass, and then sauntered off to drink some water. he looked back my way and then did quite a fast trot in the opposite direction. later i saw him down pretty close to the fence where i'd been standing. he was flirting with me, but really, he wasn't going to give me the time of day. never the less, it deepend my determination to become friends with a horse.

becoming friends with a horse. that's got to be part of the charlotteville experience.

and then we came home and there was a huge fireworks display. i saw the grand finale from my deck. june 3? fireworks? the connection is not apparent. but it was a good end to a good saturday. even better is that there is a sunday yet to come.

arrival departure arrival

one of the myths behind why i do not spend enough time creating things is that my office is too cluttered and therefore not a functional workspace. it is my goal in the next couple of weeks to make my office less cluttered. the main motive behind this goal is that my mother will be living in here for a month in august. but i figure i will ultimately benefit by having a less distracting workspace once it's all mine again. it's tough having an office that is also a linen closet, a house overflow bin and a guest room. but i guess it's better than not having an office at all.

well so the other day -- may 30th to be exact -- while i was cleaning things out and rearranging i came across a bunch of folders full of poems that someone might notice once i'm dead. a poem was sticking out of one of the folders so i pulled it out and read it. the date of the poem was may 30th, 2005, exactly one year ago to that day. to commemorate the passing of the year (+) i will print the poem here. it is not my best work but it brings back happy memories of dancing late into the night with good friends while tending to an herb garden by day.

Arrival

she is alive

barefoot in full skirt and blazing

a spindle
a candle

she is rattling rib cage
pounding at toes
bunching hair into tossed locks

she is whispering

feel this now
give this now
bring it bring it

hips and brain might
miscommunicate
yet heart knows

the beat

motherwort and hawthorn
nurture pulse and pump
make sure
pulp is plump

she is writ on parchment
coiled and golden
incessant code

engulfed by wide
folds of fine

arms rise

ripple of starlight
dawn give forth slice of citrus
moon massage knit brow

tusillago farfara
announces
fresh season

all souls bask

tipped chin
asks of tentative climate
a seedpod's wish

drawn to stream of her song
thatch thumps
gesture for gesture
nettle initiates sting

dinner at daylight
landscape of skin
thicket


-- Zoe Krylova 5.30.05

saturday sundry

oh beautiful saturday.

farmer's market in the morning. swiss chard, broccoli and an amazing organic greens mix of red & white kale, mustard greens and tatsoi. fresh warm cinnamon donuts with mint leaf ice tea. mmmmmmm.

followed by salvation army. found some good summer garments for tashi: several cute old navy tops and a red dress made of a kitschy guitar and flower hawaiin print fabric. also found a great vintage set of dishes. i think i'll start a plate collection. so many hip patterns.

in the afternoon we took tashi to a rollerskating birthday party. while she was circling around to disco music dan and i took a loop drive from afton to batesville and back. butterflies, brooks, big trees, beautiful homes.

after picking tashi up we drove by the evan almighty film set in crozet. they've built a big wooden ark. today was a day off for the crew, but if we drive by on a weekday we may see live elephants and giraffes.

on the way home we scored a free table sitting on the side of the road. it's kinda vintage, and needs painting, but will be very useful as a sewing table. has a great drawer with compartments, perfect for spools of thread, buttons and other doo-dads. that will free up my other table for collaging. three cheers for more surface space.

and now a dinner of sauteed tofu and greens. followed by a bike ride. that's the plan.

am/pm

the morning came too soon, after insomnia. cat luna was scratching at the window and cat loki was meowling at the door. both desired a romp outside at 5am.

the day was spent at an "office technology conference." i thought it was going to be hideously boring, but actually i learned lots of tricks and gained a more in depth perspective of the tools at hand in my new workplace. i even made it through all five sessions on one latte.

the evening was boca burgers, kale and homefries. finishing "the horse and his boy" on the hammock with dan and tashi. watching hawks swoop and trees sway. trimming my daughter's dirty toe-nails.

now i am sitting at dan's computer, because mine is an ancient mess of an apple. dan is jamming via skype with his brother in denver, his other brother in portland, and two of his friends in milwaukee. every thursday they rehearse like this for a gig they have planned for portland in july. it's a technological wonder to behold.

so rather than sitting smack in the middle of it, i think i'll curl up in bed with the cats and my book and hope for a full night's rest.

Thetis

"Eyes with with tears,
he spoke, and her ladyship his mother heard him
in green deeps where she lolled near her old father.
Gliding she rose and broke like mist from the inshore
grey sea face, to sit down softly before him,
her son in tears; and fondling him she said:

'Child, why do you weep? What grief is this?
Out with it, tell me, both of us should know.'"

(from Homer's The Iliad, translated by Robert Fitzgerald)

Her father was Nereus, considered an ancient sea god, son of Pontos and Gaea, who obtained a position under Poseidon and had the power of prophecy. Doris and Nereus had offspring of fifty, or perhaps one hundred, daughters, called the Nereides or Dorides, of whom Thetis was one of the most famous, at one time desired in betrothal by Zeus. Zeus was warned by Themis that such a union would produce a son who would surpass Zeus in might, so he withdrew from his engagment and Thetis the sea-goddess was given in marriage to Peleus, a young and pious prince of Phthia, in Thessaly. Together they bore the son, Achilles.

"Thetis
had kept in mind her mission for her son,
and rising like a dawn mist from the sea
into a cloud she soared aloft in heaven
to high Olympos. Zeus with massive brows
she found apart, on the chief crest enthroned,
and slipping down before him, her left hand
placed on his knees and her right hand held up
to cup his chin, she made her pleas to him:

'O father Zeus, if ever amid immortals
by word or deed I served you, grant my wish
and see to my son's honor! Doom for him
of all men came on quickest. . .'"

(from The Iliad, as above)

mythology in the morning

this morning i awoke at 4:30 am because of cat noise and the moon shining through a window and hitting in me in the eyes. i decided to rise and take advantage of a couple more hours added to my day, though i know i am going to suffer for it come afternoon.

i am attempting to read the iliad and thought it might be a good exercise to talk about the characters in here. perhaps it will urge me on. i've read the odyssey a few times and love it, but i tend to get trampled in the battles of the iliad.

this morning we will begin with a meditation on Thetis.

happy mother's day!

may you all get extra hugs, kisses, sweet nothings, flowers, restful moments and maybe even breakfast in bed!

this week in review

1) our isuzu trooper with over 225,000 miles failed inspection because of a crack in the windshield and a few other details which will cost us way more than we are willing to pay. we've had this vehicle for six years with a crack in the windshield. it moved us from california to michigan where it endured four harsh winters and then moved us from michigan to charlottesville where it may finally be put out of its misery. i've been in denial since day one that it falls into the suv catagory. but indeed it does. politically incorrect or not, it's been a good friend.

2) i took tashi to see the movie hoot. her ranger rick magazine hyped it and she'd been counting the days until it hit the screen. it was very much a kid movie, not very realistic and just plain dumb in parts. but i can't complain too much about a movie that might make kids think protecting the environment is cool as well as making them more aware of corrupt corporate decision makers.

3) the african violet in my office at work opened up two of its red blossoms.

4) i had a great lunch at the new noodle bar behind the satellite ballroom. dan and i shared a california roll, and then i had a delicious soup of soba noodles, shitake mushrooms, bok choy and ginger while dan had a delightful curry. we give it four thumbs up.

5) on thursday tashi got her hearing aids. somehow it doesn't feel right lumping this in with all the rest, but i was too exhausted that night to give it an entry of its own. we discovered a year ago that our daughter has a mild hearing loss that is probably not progressive and is probably genetic. the recommendation all along has been hearing aids, though we took our time examining the situation. after a second opinion confirmed that she does indeed have a hearing loss significant enough to warrant hearing aids, we took her in and let her pick them out. she ordered a lovely violet colored set with earmolds that have sparkles. i felt a range of emotions when the audiologist fit the hearing aids into tashi's ears and we all tested her new soundscape. tashi has never had a single doubt or concern about having to wear hearing aids. but as her mom i wonder about so many things, how these will improve her life in so many ways, and how they might affect her life in others. the expression of relief that registered on her face when those hearing aids were finally on her ears confirmed that we were making the right choice. the first thing tashi noticed was the whirring sound of the fan in the clinic. the fresh sonic clarity of her world comes to us in bits and pieces, when she starts because of a click or a thump, or she tests her own voice by repeating the same word or phrase in various tones over and over and over and -- did i say over?-- again, and when she notices birdsong or turning signal or cat bell or miscellaneous clatter. it's an amazing new dimension for all of us.

6) last night dan and i watched a very good somewhat disturbing movie called, "disco pigs." it had cillian murphy in it, the star of "breakfast on pluto." we give it four thumbs up.

7) today we had fun at the festival of cultures in lee park. the afghani dancers were gorgeous and the show of burmese refugees was impressive. tashi participated in some fun crafts, we ate some good food and heard some decent music. it was beautiful and sunny with just the right amount of cool in the air.

8) when i came home there was a brand new bike in the living room. dan and tashi giggled and snorted as my shock registered. they bought me a beautiful new trek for mother's day! they couldn't wait until tomorrow, so they gave it to me today. this is just so amazing. both dan and tashi have awesome bikes and i've been the speed walker. but now i can share in the joy of petrol free tansportation on wheels. i am so warmed and grateful. thanks loves!

virginia plant sightings

the tulip poplar

one of the trees our new heavenly hammock is attached to is a tall tree that has been dropping these crazy green and orange flowers. i finally identified it by clicking through the various trees on an awesome identification page. it is a tulip poplar or a tulip tree or a yellow poplar or a liriodendron tulipifera. perhaps i should have known this already but, as much as i love them, i can't seem to keep all the trees straight.

the tulip poplar tree is one of the tallest north eastern hardwood trees (up to 120 feet). the leaves actually have the tulip flower shape for which the tree is named. the flowers are showy green and orange cups full of creamy stamens. apparently they are very popular with the honey bees.

the wood is not very strong on the trees and from what i've read they fall easily in strong winds. watch out house.

home town friday

i just love charlottesville on a friday.

first dan and tashi picked me up from work. it was pouring rain and i was completely on a stress bender. we decided to have dinner at the south street brew pub which has an absolutely amazing blackened catfish sandwich w/ fries for $8.95. it's the best damn deal in the place, don't doubt it. the beer is delightful also. i was sad to discover that as we were eating we were missing a free show of morwenna lasko and jay pun at the charlottesville pavilion fridays after five spectacular. i like to describe morwenna lasko as the jimi hendrix of violin.

but the good food and and beer made up for any sadness.

after dinner we booked down the swarming main street pedestrian mall toward the guano boys, the next act at the pavilion. on the way we saw the buford school steppers who were a bunch of kids doing some amazing synchronized moves and calls and clapping. i got all choked up watching them 'cuz i'm just that way. yay for kids gettin' it together in a world that is totally falling apart.

we had fun watching the guano boys, dancing a little, playing tag, seeing some familiar faces, and yes, drinking more beer. none of that budweiser crap either, just the real starr hill thang. sometimes i feel a little guilty drinking beer in front of my child, but there's something comforting about being in a crowd of many parents doing the same. disfunctional maybe. but frankly, i think hops rock.

the charlottesville pavilion warrants many complaints. it's ugly. the sound sucks. it keeps the surrounding neighbors up too late. the music is bad and good and really great and awful. but on a friday night, there's something just so fine about being able to see some good music with the family for free amongst lots of folks with familiar faces while drinking yummy microbrew as the kids play chase and occasionally do the two step. small pleasures, yes.

but i'm also wondering, where are all the black people?????? please come out and see music at the charlottesville pavilion. the crowd is so white sometimes that i think there is something very, very wrong around here. and well, obviously there is.

after the guano boys ended we went the bridge gallery which is next to spudnuts. spudnuts has some sort of cult following around here as they make donuts from potato flour. but anyway, that's a whole other topic. we went to an art gallery in a sort of old building that was once and auto shop or an insurance agency or an air conditioning dealer. i was pleased to see that one of the exhibits was by a girl who i had met at work recently. she does these mixed media, photo, legal pad, string, anatomical installations floating in space. another room was a giant sandbox which tashi just loved. while she played in the sand we watched an apocalyptic video loop of countryside, sunset, river and industrial wasteland set to the tune of weird answering machine messages. i got grossed out in another room where there was of a film of a guy puking in a cafe. and then there were more photos of italy and factories and then we saw a kindergarten teacher from tashi's school and everything just got too mixed up.

we went back to main street where things were really starting to take turn at 9pm. tashi and dan were getting an ice cream cone and i was waiting outside and a toothless guy seemed to think i was waiting for something else. why can't a woman just wait? there were drunk teenagers and drunk college students and drunk childless couples and drunk old people and drunk toothless people and slightly tipsy tired parents getting their children ice cream cones. it was definitely time to go home.

and home i am, if i dare declare it that, after a night in charlottesville that makes me both pleased and puzzeled about where i might spend the many years ahead.

neil young, spring chicken and eight hours

today at work i listened to neil young's free album on the web, living with war. it's awesome and neil young is an artist of true integrity.

there was an end of term picnic where i ate fried chicken and pizza. i introduced myself to a faculty member in my department and he said, "which undergraduate program are you in?" the expensive facial lotion must be working. he felt pretty sheepish when i told him i was the new staff member.

i'm slowly resigning myself to the fact that i'm not going to have much of a life outside of work, at least not until i learn the ropes and can do my tasks in a semi-conscious state. i'm usually a late night person and that is where i fit in things like writing and reading and making things and watching david letterman. but if i'm going to make it through the days without picking up a coffee habit, i'm going to have to be in bed by 10:00 to get my eight hours of sleep. that gives me a total of 90 minutes to myself after tashi's light is out. and the house, oh what a mess.

don't worry, the blog might get interesting again someday. if it ever was interesting to begin with.

free mulch

today was free mulch day. we lined up with dozens of other vehicles by a local park headquarters and when it was our turn we got to pull in, park, and shovel mulch into as many bags as we wished. some people filled the cabs of their pick-ups. other people brought tubs and garbage cans to fill. we had bunches of big bags the city gave us for leaf collection, and we filled perhaps 16 of them. yay for free mulch.

later in our yard i covered up poison ivy areas with newspaper and poured mulch on top. dan cleared our potential hammock area of the weeds and scrub and pulled down the huge poison ivy vine from the tree. you can actually walk up to the tree now and give it a big hug. tomorrow i'll dump mulch all over that area and maybe we'll hang the hammock. it's going to be sweet.

welcome to the weekend

thus endeth the first five days of my new job.

in celebration we went out to dinner. i'd heard there was a newish middle eastern restaurant and so we decided to check it out. charlottesville is sorely lacking in middle eastern food, i must say. so we drove down stripmall lane to a small, tucked away eatery called zandi's. by day it is a sub shop, by night it transforms into fine halal dining. well, if you don't mind eating with plastic forks off of styrofoam. the food was scrumptious.

dan and i started off with a large bowl of smokey fine babaganoush and pita. then we both had the chicken kabab platter. the kababs of marinated grilled chicken were delightful and tender to the palatte. the grilled tomatoes & onions combined with a heap of rice and some sides of mint yogurt and tabouli were perfectly savory accompaniments. tashi was satisfied with her kid's kubedeh and it all disappeared into her happy little tum. parents are pleased when kids clear their platter. the vegetarian dishes looked very nice too. i saw some golden falafel land on a neighboring table, along with some sizable grape leaves and a bowl of fresh salad. i brought home a beautiful piece of baklava which right now is a shiny centerpiece on our kitchen table until i have some room in my belly for it. so much for a diet. but heck, it's friday. after my first week at a new job.

what have i to say about the new job, you ask, oh faithful invisible reader of my minutiae? the job is not yet as intense as i was predicting, but i think that might come in waves. my brain is getting some much needed exercise. i work amongst a really great cast of loons. my supervisor rocks. my office windows are full of sunlight and trees. i have to play detective to figure out what to do and how to do it, as the woman i'm replacing is not there to train me, and my supervisor hasn't much experience with my specific tasks. i am enjoying myself and sometimes wanting to cry. time flies. i'm learning a new language. i'm meeting lots of scholars. i'm tooling around with several new computer applications and have to memorize like a dozen passwords. sometimes i write small poems on yellow stickies. sometimes i just pretend. chai, lotion, energy bars. tashi's artwork surrounds me. i need to get more sleep at night so that i don't need to drink coffee in the late afternoon.

at this moment i'm feeling pretty crispy. so i'm going to go crumble into a heap on the couch and watch the dvd i rented.

quick bit

indeed today i stepped into the alternate universe of my new job. i met many interesting people and acquainted myself with my new computer. my office is sunny with a view of leafy trees and red brick.

i am sad to have missed wilco at the charlottesville pavilion last night. dan was out of town and i didn't want to drag tashi down to the balcony seat when really it was her bedtime. some reverberations traveled the distance to our house, but not such that i could identify the songs.

i have been having major technical difficulties with the blog. my very old mac powerbook can't seem to hold its cookies, which means i can't log into the posting page. right now i'm using dan's computer. my entries may be infrequent until this problem is resolved.