our one year charlottesville anniversary came and went. so did my 39th birthday. my mother had a safe return to ann arbor on saturday. tashi started school tuesday. dan went to germany for a week and has returned. tropical depression ernesto knocked a tree down around the corner which in turn knocked the power out. there are mushrooms growing in our yard.
on saturday tashi and i visited old town alexandria after dropping my mom off at reagan national airport. the potomac river had flooded a bit the night before and there was a line of sludge and plastic water bottles all along the waterfront. we visited the torpedo factory, a place that was once indeed a manufacturer of such, but now houses dozens of artisan studios.
on sunday a jet-lagged dan, tashi and myself went to an open house at a winery where we had a picnic, a wine tasting and a wade in the rockfish river. tashi didn't want to stomp on grapes with her bare feet because there were bees buzzing nearby. later she didn't want to wade in the river because an adult smashed a wine glass on some rocks.
after our winery experience we took a drive up and over the blue ridge and dropped down into lexington where there were military boys in white uniforms lining up at every restaurant. we resigned ourselves to ordering subs on the outskirts of town and then went to hull's drive-in where we watched the second pirates of the carribean movie. it was a full house. the last time i went to a drive-in theater i was in high school and surely crocked. hull's is the only non-profit drive-in in the country and very family oriented. a group that calls themselves "hull's angels" saved it from its near destruction a few years ago. the movie was pretty gruesome, not the type of film we would normally choose for tashi's viewing pleasure. but she accidentally saw the first pirates movie on tv and loved it so much we assumed the second one would be as entertaining. we came away fairly ambivalent about the whole experience.
labor day was about groceries, hair cuts and new school shoes.
alas, tashi is now reading to dan before bed, and so i must go join them.
notes from my twilight realm
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Monday, August 28, 2006
rain write
I'm stuck at work waiting for a rainstorm to pass before I head home. So I thought this would be a good after hours blog opportunity. Right now I'm listening to Cheb I Sabbah on Pandora while the bruised sky breaks opens.
Yesterday we went to Luray Caverns. It was an awesome underground network of stalagmite cathedrals, deep crevices and mirror ponds. It is just unbelievable that this surreal world exists under an unassuming grassy hill. Tashi was a little spooked as it felt like a vicious goblin might appear from behind any of the many wild formations. But all in all we had a grand time.
The drive through the Shenandoah Valley to Luray was about as scenic as can be, with the Appalachian range to the West and the Blue Ridge to the East and the lazy river winding back and forth throughout. And then we had another blissful ride home through the Rappahannock Valley (pictured above). It was perfect dream of rolling pastures, animated mountains, pretty homesteads, horses and cows. The kind of land that makes you want to get off the grid and sell herbal teas for a living. Wait, wasn't once I going to do that? I may yet. . .
On saturday we checked out Lexington, Virginia. Unfortunately I didn't run into Sally Mann. We did roam through a kitschy community fair and eat funnel cake. Afterwards we got lost on some back roads leading to the James River and then we drove up to the Blue Ridge Parkway where we enjoyed more stunning scenery and a wonderful sunset.
It was just the kind of Virginia weekend we needed. Even if the car wanted to overheat and was spewing a foul black smoke every so often.
Sunday, August 13, 2006
week end cap
hello babes in blogland. it is sunday night and the laundry is in full swing. dan just cleaned the catbox and is now studying chinese. tashi is finishing up a chapter in the fourth harry potter book before showering. my mother is doing the dishes because she insists it is so. luna and loki are having their last outdoor romp of the day. for dinner we ate a free range grain fed chicken cooked in our little baby rotisserie. along with it we had tasty tabbouleh, baked potatoes and corn. today i went grocery shopping, wrote poetry, played at mad libs with tashi, puttered around the house and cooked. that is the sunday update.
yesterday we went to washington, dc, which is mere two hour drive north east. we went because my mother wanted to go to the anti-war march (pictured above). there certainly could be worse things to do with one's mother. dan and tashi went to the national zoo while mom and i joined in the crowd of 30,000 and chanted, "iraq, lebanon, palestine! occupation is a crime!" it was a very upbeat demonstration and i'm glad we attended. the sign i carried said, "president bush, quit the killing of innocent children!"
we met dan and tashi at kramer books and afterwords cafe near dupont circle. it was happy hour and i drank two very dark turbo dogs. we then drove off to georgetown where there were lots and lots of yuppies and expensive restaurants. we ate at a lebanese restuarant called fetoosh. i didn't order the right thing, but dan's kebabs and tashi's kibbees and my mom's gyro were quite tasty.
we arrived home just in time for a saturday night live re-run. i promptly fell asleep on the couch and got a kink in my neck.
yesterday we went to washington, dc, which is mere two hour drive north east. we went because my mother wanted to go to the anti-war march (pictured above). there certainly could be worse things to do with one's mother. dan and tashi went to the national zoo while mom and i joined in the crowd of 30,000 and chanted, "iraq, lebanon, palestine! occupation is a crime!" it was a very upbeat demonstration and i'm glad we attended. the sign i carried said, "president bush, quit the killing of innocent children!"
we met dan and tashi at kramer books and afterwords cafe near dupont circle. it was happy hour and i drank two very dark turbo dogs. we then drove off to georgetown where there were lots and lots of yuppies and expensive restaurants. we ate at a lebanese restuarant called fetoosh. i didn't order the right thing, but dan's kebabs and tashi's kibbees and my mom's gyro were quite tasty.
we arrived home just in time for a saturday night live re-run. i promptly fell asleep on the couch and got a kink in my neck.
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
desktop doodle
it's a lunchbreak blog update.
ants: thanks to grants ant stakes, there are fewer tiny annoying creepy crawlies in our house.
dust: my mother is making sure to keep it all at bay
hawks: there are still red tail hawks roosting in the tall pine tree two doors down. but the small hawks i've seen in my yard are not red tail fledglings at all. they are coopers hawks who kill songbirds. the other day tashi and i witnessed one pulling apart a bird and feasting. afterwards it made a series of yakking sounds and puffed itself up all proud. and then i had to observe it torment a cardinal and steal her babies from the nest. it was one of the worst nature watching experiences i've ever had.
cicadas: yesterday i found one on its back on the sidewalk, trying desperately to turn himself upright. i helped him out. and then this morning i found one of those cool dried shells stuck to our deck. cicadas are a trip.
mice: oh forget it, way too gross.
tashi: she's in an art daycamp at the mcguffey center. yesterday she drew human figures with charcoal, scuplted with clay, and sketched a camp-mate without either lifting her pen or looking at the paper. did i mention that she read like seven books when we were in cyprus? including the first two harry potter books. who was it that said waldorf kids end up illiterate?
food: we ate at a great new nepali/indian/tibetan fusion restaurant on the downtown mall. the service was slow and the food slightly overpriced (except for the lunch buffet which is very reasonably priced), but i must say the momo's and pakoras were some of the best i've ever had. and the company, it was quite excellent. buddhists are so nice & interesting, ya know.
ants: thanks to grants ant stakes, there are fewer tiny annoying creepy crawlies in our house.
dust: my mother is making sure to keep it all at bay
hawks: there are still red tail hawks roosting in the tall pine tree two doors down. but the small hawks i've seen in my yard are not red tail fledglings at all. they are coopers hawks who kill songbirds. the other day tashi and i witnessed one pulling apart a bird and feasting. afterwards it made a series of yakking sounds and puffed itself up all proud. and then i had to observe it torment a cardinal and steal her babies from the nest. it was one of the worst nature watching experiences i've ever had.
cicadas: yesterday i found one on its back on the sidewalk, trying desperately to turn himself upright. i helped him out. and then this morning i found one of those cool dried shells stuck to our deck. cicadas are a trip.
mice: oh forget it, way too gross.
tashi: she's in an art daycamp at the mcguffey center. yesterday she drew human figures with charcoal, scuplted with clay, and sketched a camp-mate without either lifting her pen or looking at the paper. did i mention that she read like seven books when we were in cyprus? including the first two harry potter books. who was it that said waldorf kids end up illiterate?
food: we ate at a great new nepali/indian/tibetan fusion restaurant on the downtown mall. the service was slow and the food slightly overpriced (except for the lunch buffet which is very reasonably priced), but i must say the momo's and pakoras were some of the best i've ever had. and the company, it was quite excellent. buddhists are so nice & interesting, ya know.
Thursday, August 03, 2006
greetings from the abyss
sorry about the blog absence. i've been catching up with work, sleep, house, husband. the return has been stressful. ants have taken over our dusty abode. one of my cats has decided to mark its territory on any canvas bag in site. and it's hot. hotter than cyprus. we've caved into the politically incorrect way of cooling systems, and installed two window units. wow. they sure make a difference. and a lot of noise. and my mom is staying with us. she doesn't like the ants or cat pee or dust or heat or noise. in fact, i don't think she likes me very much either.
clickety click if you want to see documentation of our one night in london with my cousin david (who was a tireless video taper). some of the "arrival" video is fun central london stuff. we're pretty tired looking in the "epilogue." and "talk talk" is just that, and lots of it. pretty good recaps of our trip to cyprus, which at this point doesn't even seem like it actually happened.
stay tuned for virginia adventures, we hope.
clickety click if you want to see documentation of our one night in london with my cousin david (who was a tireless video taper). some of the "arrival" video is fun central london stuff. we're pretty tired looking in the "epilogue." and "talk talk" is just that, and lots of it. pretty good recaps of our trip to cyprus, which at this point doesn't even seem like it actually happened.
stay tuned for virginia adventures, we hope.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
the sounds of war
Friday, July 28, 2006
Monday, July 24, 2006
final thought
today our last day in cyprus. the journey has been a bumpy load punctuated by periods of sea drift. fleeting moments of relaxation: floating like a starfish under cyprus sky. sky specific to this region -- a certain blue, a certain smell, a certain just-so along the land, a certain presence upon closed eyelids that conveys bliss and bombardment. a certain agony. a certain jubilation.
the beauty of cyprus is subtle. it emerges from a rusty tire rim. it grows from the stone rubble of an abandoned village home riddled with bullet holes. it peaks out from between ostentatious resorts and villas. it drifts between traffic jams and round-abouts. it sinks behind the akamas peninsula and rises from the shore of the pomos point. it brings you a sense of harmony despite its very destruction, despite the devastation of a land less than 100 miles away.
the beauty of cyprus is subtle. it emerges from a rusty tire rim. it grows from the stone rubble of an abandoned village home riddled with bullet holes. it peaks out from between ostentatious resorts and villas. it drifts between traffic jams and round-abouts. it sinks behind the akamas peninsula and rises from the shore of the pomos point. it brings you a sense of harmony despite its very destruction, despite the devastation of a land less than 100 miles away.
Saturday, July 22, 2006
our days are numbered
where capers grow along dusty track. cats cling. winding venture seeks cedar valley. aromatic shift. the fan isists. goat smell. after fish, a feast. the pillar cracked ignites a need. fig tree from tomb. thyme scent & snake. surf breaks upon rock. salt spray. doves salute setting sun.
- - - - - - -
yesterday, after visiting aphrodite's temple in kouklia, we drove up into the mountains. we wound through several villages of stone houses and red roofs. the greenery multiplied and the breeze grew fresh and strong. we lunched in omodos, a village of white washed walls, blue wooden shutters, thin cobbled alleyways. old women sit in doorways concentrating on needlework and urging tourists into their shops. there are several old wine presses and traditional houses. we continued on to troodos, near the highest part of the range, and rode horses on a dirt track where we had sweeping views in all directions. tashi's horse was rita, and mine, ramon. they were very good horsies. after some fun in the playground we began our descent, stopping at troodhitissa, a peaceful monastery that looks more like a swiss chalet. we ended up in mongaria, where there was a festival celebrating the region's famous commanderia wine. we saw several awesome traditional song and dance routines, observed a boot cobbler, a basket maker, a chair caner. we drove back to our flat in the late-late night, my eyes fighting to remain open.
the day before we took my mom to ayios neophytos monastery built near a cave where the saint once carved out a home for himself and lived a monk's life. the funky village of lemba followed, a small community of artists and students. the cyprus school of art is there, surrounded by a colorful wall of sculpture and found objects. tashi decided that it was where she would go to college. i indulged in a beatiful teapot of lemba pottery. hopefully i'll get it home in one piece. lemba also has a very cool archeological sight of prehistoric round stone houses, but tashi was too hot to deal with it. afterwards we drove to lara bay, along the west side of the akamas peninsula. we took a swim at the blissful sandy beach, which is also one of few turtle hatcheries. a small girl named nikoletta befriended tashi. her parents were both mute.
this morning i visited the archeological museum here in polis, a small but fine collection of well preserved antiquities. polis was once called marion and then arsinoe.
today, tomorrow, and the next, our last in cyprus this summer.
- - - - - - -
yesterday, after visiting aphrodite's temple in kouklia, we drove up into the mountains. we wound through several villages of stone houses and red roofs. the greenery multiplied and the breeze grew fresh and strong. we lunched in omodos, a village of white washed walls, blue wooden shutters, thin cobbled alleyways. old women sit in doorways concentrating on needlework and urging tourists into their shops. there are several old wine presses and traditional houses. we continued on to troodos, near the highest part of the range, and rode horses on a dirt track where we had sweeping views in all directions. tashi's horse was rita, and mine, ramon. they were very good horsies. after some fun in the playground we began our descent, stopping at troodhitissa, a peaceful monastery that looks more like a swiss chalet. we ended up in mongaria, where there was a festival celebrating the region's famous commanderia wine. we saw several awesome traditional song and dance routines, observed a boot cobbler, a basket maker, a chair caner. we drove back to our flat in the late-late night, my eyes fighting to remain open.
the day before we took my mom to ayios neophytos monastery built near a cave where the saint once carved out a home for himself and lived a monk's life. the funky village of lemba followed, a small community of artists and students. the cyprus school of art is there, surrounded by a colorful wall of sculpture and found objects. tashi decided that it was where she would go to college. i indulged in a beatiful teapot of lemba pottery. hopefully i'll get it home in one piece. lemba also has a very cool archeological sight of prehistoric round stone houses, but tashi was too hot to deal with it. afterwards we drove to lara bay, along the west side of the akamas peninsula. we took a swim at the blissful sandy beach, which is also one of few turtle hatcheries. a small girl named nikoletta befriended tashi. her parents were both mute.
this morning i visited the archeological museum here in polis, a small but fine collection of well preserved antiquities. polis was once called marion and then arsinoe.
today, tomorrow, and the next, our last in cyprus this summer.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
disco post
when i first came into this cafe/bar with two computers tucked into a hot upstairs loft, i was so happy because they were playing bob marley. sometimes bob marley is all you need after weeks of greek pop music. but now they are playing very, very loud euro-trash disco music and it hurts.
but i am here and thus must update.
tonight as i drove in solitude the ten miles to polis from our little flat i felt such a mix of emotions. the sun was setting beautifully in tones of lavender and violet over the sea with the mesas and mountains of the akamas peninsula looking like a sleeping beast. i felt sad that i have just one week left in my birth place, which, sooner or later given enough time, always casts me under aphrodite's spell. i felt so much love that i thought i'd melt right there in the car and merge with the sea. but i also felt remorse, after the tension and stress of my mother and my aunt. and i felt lonely, not having my beautiful man by my side in this incredibly romantic place. and i felt huge waves of awe for my daughter who has been so entertained by the adults and who is filling her sketch book with intricate drawings and who is completely intoxicated by the underwater world. snorkeling in the mediterranean sea is way up there on the list of the best things to do with one's child.
that and climbing down into the ancient underground tombs that we visited yesterday. the tombs of the kings is an incredible sight of deep underground burial structures built as far back as the 4th century BC. tashi was certain is was going to be really boring but then couldn't get enough of the steep stairwells leading down to the well preserved underground temples full of burial chambers. we saw several lizards and a long black whip snake. all along the site are fig trees, caper plants, palm trees and wild thyme.
earlier in the day we swam at petra tou romiou, an outstanding rocky outcropping along the south coast where aphrodite is said to have risen from the sea. the water was icy cold, but so refreshing. tashi met another eight year old american child at the rocks and had a really good time connecting with a little person.
and so all goes well and seems to get better. but right now, i've got to escape this music!
Saturday, July 15, 2006
how many cypriots does it take to unlock a car?
apparently at least eight.
but this isn't an ordinary unlocking. it is the kind that takes place when a stupido tourist like myself locks her keys in the rental car.
this is how i started off my day.
first i went to the bakery, where i picked up olive bread, halloumi bread, a fat ham and cheese pastry, and another crispy pastry stuffed with a sweet cheese and sprinkled with powdered sugar. then i went to the grocery store where i picked up milk, bacon, frozen halloumi stuffed ravioli, juice and a cheap beach towel with dolphins on it. i returned to a locked car, keys in the ignition. so i walked back to our flat, which wasn't all that far. and then i walked with my mom back to the car because she speaks greek. she talked to the grocer who talked to his friend who drove off to get the mechanic. the mechanic arrived and wedged the window slightly open with strange expandable device, and stuck in various wires, first trying to press the unlock button, and then trying to pull the keys from the ignition, and then simply pulling the lock up with success. several villagers and ourselves looked on with suspense while he performed his operation. twenty pounds and two hours later we were able to get into our car and drive.
shit.
i was in a pretty fowl mood after that. it was a sort of climax to all the bad communication that has been going on between my mom, my aunt, and yes, myself. i'm tired of being told where to park, and how to back up, and what to eat and how to eat it. i'm tired of the fact that one person wants to take this path to the beach while the other wants to take the other. life is tough isn't it? ok, that's the end of my vent for now.
last night two of my cypriot-born-now-american cousins and their wives arrived from the states. the last time i saw them i was basically tashi's age. that would be 31 years ago. so we had a big family dinner at a great fish restaurant on the latchi harbor. it was a good old fashioned fish mezze. one plate after another of mussels, calamari, octopus, snapper, swordfish, awesome village salads, bread sprinkled with olive oil and herbs, taziki, taramosalata, and tahini.
today we all went to another beach on akamas, a protected cape of northwestern cyprus where there is a famous spring where, it is said, aphrodite used to bathe. again, the water was a crystal clear display of blue of hues. tashi swam around with her new mask and snorkel, pointing out a number of colorful fish, shells containing crabs and spiny sea urchins. cozy coves flank the bluffs. rocky outcroppings rise up from the sea.
yesterday we visited paphos for the second time. paphos has some awesome ancient ruins and mosaics against a backdrop of every cheesy tourist trap you can imagine. the other night a cypriot musical group performed a tribute to abba. the abba cult lives, even in cyprus. there are tons of shops selling cheap souviners made in china and india. one pub after another. pink pelicans. overpriced food. glass bottomed boats. crowds of tourists looking like cooked lobsters for lack of sunscreen.
i couldn't spend as much time as i would have liked to at the mosaics, as tashi was tired and hot. but a glimpse of the amazingly well preserved depictions of gods and goddesses was better than no glimpse at all. afterwards i took tashi to the paphos aquarium where we saw lots of fish, shrimp, eels, crabs, turtles, sting rays and a couple of alligators fresh from the mississippi. this was a nice compliment to the snake museum we visited the other day, where we saw about six native cypriot snakes, several lizards, spiders, a scorpion and some more turtles.
the other night there was a "pannayiri", a street fair that usually takes place in celebration of saint's day. it was very similar the "mela" i experienced in india. there were booths selling traditional foods, sweet honey balls called lukomathes, piles of pulses, nuts, candies, jujuko (long strings of walnuts encased in a sweet sugar taffy), air dried meats, sausages. some booths sold household items: beach towels with weird depictions of spider man, cinderella, sea creatures and race cars. kitchen ware. bedding. there were booths of pirated cd's and dvd's. and lots of booths selling very junky toys. there were carnival games where you could win caged birds, goldfish, three foot high victorian dolls. and more booths selling junky jewelery and hairbands. it was fascinating the way a carnival is.
so while emotionally i'm feeling a little fragile from the weirdness that is emitting from my mother and her sister, i'm having a great time with my daughter.
unfotunately another war has erupted in the country next door and i'm feeling pretty sick over that. having been completely ignorant of news for a few weeks now (aside from who was winning in the world cup games), the only physical impact that is felt here is that the airports are busier because flights to beruit have been diverted to cyprus.
so i'll end this with a wish for peace.
but this isn't an ordinary unlocking. it is the kind that takes place when a stupido tourist like myself locks her keys in the rental car.
this is how i started off my day.
first i went to the bakery, where i picked up olive bread, halloumi bread, a fat ham and cheese pastry, and another crispy pastry stuffed with a sweet cheese and sprinkled with powdered sugar. then i went to the grocery store where i picked up milk, bacon, frozen halloumi stuffed ravioli, juice and a cheap beach towel with dolphins on it. i returned to a locked car, keys in the ignition. so i walked back to our flat, which wasn't all that far. and then i walked with my mom back to the car because she speaks greek. she talked to the grocer who talked to his friend who drove off to get the mechanic. the mechanic arrived and wedged the window slightly open with strange expandable device, and stuck in various wires, first trying to press the unlock button, and then trying to pull the keys from the ignition, and then simply pulling the lock up with success. several villagers and ourselves looked on with suspense while he performed his operation. twenty pounds and two hours later we were able to get into our car and drive.
shit.
i was in a pretty fowl mood after that. it was a sort of climax to all the bad communication that has been going on between my mom, my aunt, and yes, myself. i'm tired of being told where to park, and how to back up, and what to eat and how to eat it. i'm tired of the fact that one person wants to take this path to the beach while the other wants to take the other. life is tough isn't it? ok, that's the end of my vent for now.
last night two of my cypriot-born-now-american cousins and their wives arrived from the states. the last time i saw them i was basically tashi's age. that would be 31 years ago. so we had a big family dinner at a great fish restaurant on the latchi harbor. it was a good old fashioned fish mezze. one plate after another of mussels, calamari, octopus, snapper, swordfish, awesome village salads, bread sprinkled with olive oil and herbs, taziki, taramosalata, and tahini.
today we all went to another beach on akamas, a protected cape of northwestern cyprus where there is a famous spring where, it is said, aphrodite used to bathe. again, the water was a crystal clear display of blue of hues. tashi swam around with her new mask and snorkel, pointing out a number of colorful fish, shells containing crabs and spiny sea urchins. cozy coves flank the bluffs. rocky outcroppings rise up from the sea.
yesterday we visited paphos for the second time. paphos has some awesome ancient ruins and mosaics against a backdrop of every cheesy tourist trap you can imagine. the other night a cypriot musical group performed a tribute to abba. the abba cult lives, even in cyprus. there are tons of shops selling cheap souviners made in china and india. one pub after another. pink pelicans. overpriced food. glass bottomed boats. crowds of tourists looking like cooked lobsters for lack of sunscreen.
i couldn't spend as much time as i would have liked to at the mosaics, as tashi was tired and hot. but a glimpse of the amazingly well preserved depictions of gods and goddesses was better than no glimpse at all. afterwards i took tashi to the paphos aquarium where we saw lots of fish, shrimp, eels, crabs, turtles, sting rays and a couple of alligators fresh from the mississippi. this was a nice compliment to the snake museum we visited the other day, where we saw about six native cypriot snakes, several lizards, spiders, a scorpion and some more turtles.
the other night there was a "pannayiri", a street fair that usually takes place in celebration of saint's day. it was very similar the "mela" i experienced in india. there were booths selling traditional foods, sweet honey balls called lukomathes, piles of pulses, nuts, candies, jujuko (long strings of walnuts encased in a sweet sugar taffy), air dried meats, sausages. some booths sold household items: beach towels with weird depictions of spider man, cinderella, sea creatures and race cars. kitchen ware. bedding. there were booths of pirated cd's and dvd's. and lots of booths selling very junky toys. there were carnival games where you could win caged birds, goldfish, three foot high victorian dolls. and more booths selling junky jewelery and hairbands. it was fascinating the way a carnival is.
so while emotionally i'm feeling a little fragile from the weirdness that is emitting from my mother and her sister, i'm having a great time with my daughter.
unfotunately another war has erupted in the country next door and i'm feeling pretty sick over that. having been completely ignorant of news for a few weeks now (aside from who was winning in the world cup games), the only physical impact that is felt here is that the airports are busier because flights to beruit have been diverted to cyprus.
so i'll end this with a wish for peace.
Thursday, July 13, 2006
we like moufflon
greetings from the "polis connect" internet cafe.
i awoke this morning at 5am and went out for a walk on the shore, shell searching as the sun was about to rise from behind a troodos peak. peaceful, cool, silent, but for the crow of a rooster and the slam of the raging surf. i saw a sideways walking crab, a shy lizard and a leaping fish. the sun eventually covered the land in laava and i found my way back to our cool chamber.
yesterday was a tiring drive into the troodos mountains. we went to the stavros psi tsokas preserve where moufflon are protected. moufflon are a kind of wild sheep with beautiful thick curved horns, once endangered in cyprus. we saw five moufflon in their enclosure. after a nice picnic of ham and halloumi sandwiches with fresh tomatoes and cucumbers, we drove to the obligatory kikkos monastery where my mom got giddy over icons. after that we drove into the cedar valley where a huge collection of the very ancient tree grows.
soon we are going to return to the beach on the akamas penninsula where the water is crystle clear and calm. there are many rocky coves to explore with a mask. the fambly is waiting for me to complete this post so i must run. hopefully i will have more time to disclose details soon.
i awoke this morning at 5am and went out for a walk on the shore, shell searching as the sun was about to rise from behind a troodos peak. peaceful, cool, silent, but for the crow of a rooster and the slam of the raging surf. i saw a sideways walking crab, a shy lizard and a leaping fish. the sun eventually covered the land in laava and i found my way back to our cool chamber.
yesterday was a tiring drive into the troodos mountains. we went to the stavros psi tsokas preserve where moufflon are protected. moufflon are a kind of wild sheep with beautiful thick curved horns, once endangered in cyprus. we saw five moufflon in their enclosure. after a nice picnic of ham and halloumi sandwiches with fresh tomatoes and cucumbers, we drove to the obligatory kikkos monastery where my mom got giddy over icons. after that we drove into the cedar valley where a huge collection of the very ancient tree grows.
soon we are going to return to the beach on the akamas penninsula where the water is crystle clear and calm. there are many rocky coves to explore with a mask. the fambly is waiting for me to complete this post so i must run. hopefully i will have more time to disclose details soon.
Monday, July 10, 2006
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!
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!
Monday, July 03, 2006
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!
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!
Saturday, July 01, 2006
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.
Thursday, June 29, 2006
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!
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!
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
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.
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.
Friday, June 23, 2006
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!
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!
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
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.
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.
Sunday, June 18, 2006
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!
Friday, June 16, 2006
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
Thursday, June 15, 2006
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?!?!
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, June 11, 2006
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!
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.
Saturday, June 03, 2006
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.
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.
Thursday, June 01, 2006
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
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
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