EDINBURGH CASTLE
Of all my paintings, this one seems most fitting for Holy Saturday, a rather gloomy, quiet, waiting day in the Christian calendar. I painted this after Daughter and I went to Edinburgh in March of 2006, and visited the castle. Most of all, I felt at home in the large, beautiful, ancient park. We were glad for our umbrellas, and it wasn't until the very end of the day that the clouds broke up a little and some sunlight hit the castle from one side. Daughter got a single photo of it before it was gone. We were downtown at a restaurant at the time, and when she saw it happen she simply darted out of the restaurant for a moment, without a word! Had she explained, she'd have missed it. So I painted this for her Thanksgiving Birthday gift that year, to thank her for taking her ol' Mom to Scotland and England first class (for my 50th birthday), and so we could both remember that golden moment. If you are observing Holy Saturday today, don't give up. The golden moment is yet to come.
Howard is First, this Fine Freezing Morning!
ReplyDelete'Bout done froze ma tookus off last night. First go up to put a warm fuzzy on. Then got up and put two more quilts on the bed, and finally got into a sound sleep. For an hour. Then the boy got up. . . .
The eldest, wife and chirren are at the beach. An annual trek to find the Easter sun rising over the ocean.
Nippy today up here too! Super clear, DRY, and gloriously sunny!!
ReplyDeleteGot ALL the Easter gifts made...and got to bed just before 3am. =Yawn!=
We're off to visit the Maine Grands! :-D
I'm not taking the computer, so have a beautiful Easter and I'll be back before it's over. ♥
ReplyDeleteP.S.: I'll be able to READ posts, just not sure I'll be able to figure out how to post from my phone.
ReplyDeleteTraveling mercies, Luv! And congrats on finishing, lol! Just don't finish yourself!
ReplyDeleteYanno, there are times I'd love to be Christian: I adore the subtleties of the liturgical wheel of the year. Perhaps because it *feels* so like poetry to me?
Winnie really wants another canine member to join her pack (which currently only includes Winnie and myself). Alas the humans in the household still resist.
ReplyDeletePosted this at the BBB ~~ three weeks to go.
ReplyDeleteI didn't find the blog until three months after I'd found Howard. And spent a month (January) lurking. What struck me, forcefully, when I was reading Renee and Demetrius's compilation of the Blog Family Profiles was *how many of those there* were already gone before I even made my first post. Before I even found the blog at all.
Free and I used to talk about the blog and Deaniacs, a lot. She posited that most (certainly not all, but *most*) of Dean's early supporters were parade followers. They quit immediately after Iowa. Didn't even wait for New Hampshire. I'd have to agree as it was reflected in the blog. Which left, actually, a huge support group. I also lurked at the Kerry blog, the Clark blog, and the Edwards blog. In fact, one of my friends on FB is from the Kerry blog (and My Left Wing). Those three were merciless in shutting down their places. And it was painful to watch. There were all kinds of budding friendships shot down, and hope and dreams poisoned.
She also feared that HQ would become merely a place for libruls to keep a job in off election years. I think it has become that.
As I said: it was very clear even in 2005 that Howard understood very well the vitality of this place and internet communities in general. It's also clear, and has been for long, that Jim does not. When the moderation quit, the blog began to die. Tara and Danny (Charles) tried to mold us, guide us, steer us, into channels *they* thought would prove/might prove useful to HQ. The cat herding project failed, and they pretty much washed their hands of us. The most hopeful and/or bullheaded amongst us stayed. And have tried to cope.
I don't think the disagreements have a whole lot to do with the political spectrum. I haven't, and don't, have problems with the lack of support for this President. What I DO have problems with is tone and source and sheer volume. With Johnny One Note negativity. With irrational hate. And vile sources. That likely wasn't going to change. I've thought all along, and *always* called out those involved.
This blog has very literally changed the actual course of my life in the most personal ways: where I lived, who I lived with, who I loved. It's been difficult to let go of that. Difficult or not, I clearly am going to have to. As are we all. I wish you all well. No exceptions. Good journey. It's been quite a trip!
Maybe just keep at them? Or maybe that'll just make them more resistant? Wish you luck with the project.
ReplyDeletelistener -- dry here, too. A fire warning today. But not *super* dry (we're actually a bit ahead of ourselves for the year, rain wise). But cold, and looking to stay that way as far into the future as the weather guys are willing to go. But spring cold is not the same as winter cold, so I'll live with it.
ReplyDelete