my pickle and my charms.

Do not scold the little birds.
We need their songs.
Do not hate your own body.
It is the altar for humanity's spirit.

Your eyes contain the trichiliocosm,
and your ears have sovereignty over the birds,
the springs, the rising tide,
Beethoven, Bach, Chopin,
the cries of the baby,
and the song that lulls her to sleep.
Your hands are flowers of love
that need not be picked by anyone,
and your forehead
is the most beautiful morning of all mornings.
Do not destroy the structure of suchness within you.

The corn, the grass, and the fragrance of the night
have all spoken out for peace.
I know a bullet may strike
the heart of the little bird this morning,
the bird that is celebrating life with all its might,
The corn, the grass, the fragrance of the night,
together with the stars and the moon--
all of us are doing our best.
We are doing everything we can
to keep you alive.
~Thich Nhat Hanh

Participated in Wherever There Is Water lantern parade last night.  The artist is George Ferrandi from Brooklyn. She has been in residence at Fleisher for several months. The project is a narrative about a character named Humberta who travels up the eastern seaboard in a boat with animal familiars to find her only love.

photos by Neil.











More pics and info:

www.fleisher.org/exhibitions/water-philagrafika.php

www.flickr.com/photos/amberdorkostopper/

colored-thread.blogspot.com/2010/04/wherever-there-is-water.html

"It's a funny feeling being taken under the wing of a dragon. It's warmer than you'd think."

Happy New Year to everyone. I had one of the best Christmases I've ever had. I think I might be getting the hang of this. Very low key, just a few presents*. Lots of baking and good food, time to remember friends close and far and gone. Time out in the weather, time in by the fire. Music. Enjoying what the city gives up this time of year. The night of the big storm (12/19) three Septa buses got stuck on the street that goes by my house. There is a hill that starts just in front of my house and on the ice, if you stop there, you're toast. So one bus got stuck, then another, then another. The few passengers jumped ship and walked to another bus line. The bus drivers stayed in their buses from about 4pm Saturday until 10am the next day. They were in their buses all night. A few neighbors, including us, went out to check on them and offer supplies or use of our house/phone/bathroom. One of the bus drivers was a mom with 4 kids waiting for her at home. Septa finally sent help Sunday morning and got all of the buses out of there. Two nights ago, a Septa bus full of passengers stopped in front of our house, the bus driver jumped out to deliver a Christmas card and thank you note to us. It was so funny seeing all of the passengers looking out the window as the driver made her delivery. hee hee!

*I did get a beautiful Melissa Joy Manning necklace. I loooooove her jewelry. So we haven't given up on presents entirely.


An interesting obit in today's NYT. Don't miss the clip with Thurston Moore at the end:

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/27/in-memory-of-maryanne-amacher/?th&emc=th


Happy New Year!!

I fell down the stairs again today. Not quite as spectacularly as last time, which was all the way from the top. This time just the last third. Both times feet first, rather than head, thankfully.  A slow motion topple down the steps focuses the mind on the present moment in a quite beautiful way.

Just banged up and sore, nothing broken. Later on spilled a full container of south philly chocolate Italian Ice down the front of my dress. Some goblin has it out for me today.

www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/07/06/opinion/20090706_opart.html

www.nybooks.com/articles/22891

Beautiful weekend here in Philadelphia. David Byrne at the Mann on Friday night. Saturday music festival/flea market at our neighborhood park. So many happy, tired, muddy children, so many awesome neighbors and friends. I remind myself often that these are the magic years, the ones that I'll look back on at the end of my life and remember as the best years.

Apropos of nothing: Rocket Man. Sending love to all you earthlings out there.

The phantasamagorical wonder that is Bread and Puppet Theater is coming in for a landing tonight. I had every intention of going to the City Kitties Auction, but just found out B&P is putting on a show at my neighborhood park. I've been up to their farm in Glover, Vermont and caught a few of their shows around. They put on a pageant at Liberty Lands back in 2000 (?) when LL received forgiveness on a horrendous demolition lien that had come with the property (1,000,000). The park is now owned free and clear by the neighborhood, I've posted on it before. My dear friend Janet is one of the primary workhorses of LL and all things wonderful in NoLibs, generally. She is also a Bread and Puppets stalwart. She and her husband and daughter spend a week up there every summer. Show starts at 7:30 if you're in the area.

A trip to Termini Brothers (the original location in South Philly) is my new Mother's Day tradition.

Youse out of towners: If you ever come to Philly, this is a must!!