geckos

I just wanted to anounce the recent acquisition of a new lizard friend that is not a dinosuar and that is actually real and not an acrylic painting from my head. It's Calvin the leopard gecko! If you haven't met him, you should, because he's great. He doesn't look leopardy yet because he's young... so right now he's mostly orange with black markings. He has a log-cave and some rock structures in which he likes to hide, or crawl around on if he's feeling spry. He also has a jungle-leaf plant which he crawls up into sometimes, hiding. He eats live crickets (sorry crickets) and they must be delicious to him because he eats a lot. I'll put a picture here at a later time. Maybe I'll even paint a picture of him.

Pets are fun, but sometimes I feel bad about them. There is a difference, though, between caging a wild animal and having a pet that was born in captivity. The second doesn't know anything different; the cage and immediate surroundings are its world, and that's all it knows. And so the animal can enjoy its life. It would be amazing to have a wild animal for a pet, like a squirrel or chipmunk or something, but it already knows about life on its own and it would be too sad to contain it. I found a wild snail once and put it in a jar, but I either killed it or it went into hibernation or just lost its will to live... poor Cecil the snail.

bits and pieces

It's 2008 today, and seems an appropriate time to examine life. Socrates said that "The unexamined life is not worth living." That's a pretty strong statement, and it compels me. Ask if you want to hear more on that subject.

Christmas was fun with my family - ALL of us together for a day. We were pretty lazy all day, but it's good to have some days like that. I think i had several great naps that day.

My mom and sister Em visited last week, which was fun. A visit to O'Betty's was a highlight for them. Can't go wrong there. Then my dear friend Rachel came for a day, which meant a lot as she lives in the Chicago area. It's such a gift to have a friendship built over so many years... it gives lots of opportunities to show grace to each other. And faithfulness.

Then there was the turkey fiasco... please read my friend Andrea's explanation of that epic tale. She explains it well. I'm not really feeling at peace with turkeys much now. I have my own turkey problem taking up the majority of my little fridge, but it's looking hopeful that it soon may be out of my life. Lesson learned.

I just found a little poem about the moon that I had learned while living in Bolivia... I've been trying to remember it, but couldn't. Then I remembered that you can find just about anything on the internet. Amazing. So here it is (part of it, anyway).

Luna lunera, cascabelera,
ojos azules, boca morena.

Last night I accidently ended up at the waterfall; I think some unseen Force must have brought me there. My heart had had no peace all day. Running hard through the field by the birch trees didn't help, even playing the piano for quite a while didn't bring any release, and I felt more frustrated and sad than ever. It's wanting to say everything at once, but being stopped by some stubborn wall of fear. Well, problem not solved, but the falling water must have done something. I was reminded of being alone with God. And of courage. More on that later.

florida

There are a pile of young, green coconuts on my parents' table. Josh and Beka brought them up from West Palm Beach, where Josh cut them out of people's palm trees while Beka kept watch. Nice work. My first time drinking the water from a green coconut was while visiting B this past spring: Josh cut it from a tree, cut the top off, and that was that. I have to say, it was probably the most refreshing thing I've ever drank. And I was standing by the ocean, which made the experience even more vivid. That whole week had some pretty vivid moments, actually, particularly when in the everglades for a day. Lots of alligators, and a green heron catching a fish, and "herping" (which I have learned is the technical term for snake-catching, not "snaking"), and other things.

ouch

Yesterday I visited the local pet store, which I think is called Fish n' Stuff. It's pretty great. They have lots of fish and corals and reptiles, and rodents. I like looking at the crazy colorful fish; the problem with them, though, is that they're not very good for holding. But rodents! So soft and small! They had this one little guy called a Spiny Mouse, which kind of looks like a tiny hedge hog only without spines and just some bristly parts in his fur. I was quite taken with him, and the owner let me hold him for a while. It was all going swimmingly and I was having thoughts of doing something impulsive like taking him home with me right then. Unfortunately he and I didn't seem to be on the same wavelength and he let me know by gingerly taking a bite of my finger. Ouch. My finger, now punctured, bruised and bloodied, was only a representation of the real damage done to my small animal-loving soul. Maybe Spiny was just having a bad day. I hope we can be reconciled.

tickled

Isn't it great when unexpected things happen? When I opened my eyes yesterday morning and peered out from my blankety cave, what greeted me but beautiful SNOW! It took me completely by surprise and immediately I started laughing. I'm not sure if I've ever woken up laughing before, but I'd like to more often. What a great way to begin a day.

eyes

Today a former resident came to the house to get some of her things. It was funny, because I had just been thinking about her and her son, wondering how they were, where they were... uncanny how often that happens. I was suprised and glad to see her, but also saddened. She just looked crushed somehow, defeated. Her eyes had pain.

She's going far away, and I don't suppose I'll see her again. It's so strange how we step in and out of each other's lives. I'm not sure what to do with that.

I love this picture of the four of us. A sister sandwich. It's from Thanksgiving 2006, I think.

I had plans to lie in front of my parents' pellet stove and sleep, but got distracted. Even though that didn't work out, the most delicious nap still came over me this afternoon. Then I woke up and my mom and I walked through the candle-lit streets of Granville. Pretty but cold. We came home and I talked her into making caramel corn (she had been asking me what special cake or dessert I wanted for my birthday and I couldn't even think! Caramel corn seemed right. Thankfully I still have tomorrow to make that important decision). I plan on eating large quantities of it very soon. Unfortunately I forgot to add peanuts...