Gray Sunday

[jlh]

Wow, I'm really spammy this weekend. The weather is gray and dreary and cold and the tree outside my window is starting to turn and it all makes me homesick for Maine and the beautiful bleak time when fall turns to winter, when there are no leaves left on the trees but snow hasn't fallen yet (or at least, hasn't stuck) and there are brown leaves underfoot everywhere. The best time is that time after the summer people, between leaf peepers and skiers, when the people from away have left us to our rural solitude. The ocean is getting darker and darker blue as the weather gets colder and it crashes on the rocks. It's as though the entire landscape is shouting, "How do you like me now, when I'm ugly and forbidding?" and I can only answer, "I love you, because you are beautiful and you are my home." So there's a big clue to my psychology, if you want it.

Speaking of which, I did the handwriting thing but it wasn't that interesting. I suppose this is because I have fairly neat cursive; I only write cursive when I am doing something that takes time, like writing in my journal. If I'm taking notes in a meeting or writing fiction, where voices (external or in my head) are moving faster than my hand, I print. (This is one reason I prefer to write on the computer; I can type pretty much as fast as I can think but I certainly can't print that fast.) So my cursive has stayed neat, and printing is always neat anyway. Therefore my analysis came out with a lot of "Clio is moderate" blah blah blah. Whatever.

I'm finding that it is taking a long time to recover from this latest trip, physically and emotionally. I think I'm going to lay low today and maybe cook some chili later. Maybe do some writing, which will likely make me feel better, or at least more myself.

By the way, for those of you that saw pegkerr's post on the subject, yes, the Bush campaign has been keeping lots of people out of their rallies; NPR's Nina Totenberg (who has the legal beat, does probably the best reporting on the Supreme Court, and broke the Anita Hill story) covered the issue on Morning Edition last week.

Veda is still recovering too, I think. She's exceptionally clingy this weekend. I'm going to take her to the vet next weekend, and hopefully they can make her a little bit more palatable to strangers. We'll see. She really is a good cat even if everyone else hates her.

Comments

[adjudicated.livejournal.com]

I grew up in California and New Mexico, and I used to like long in my mind for states like Maine and Vermont -- states with real Autumns and tons of foliage. California doesn't see seasonal change really at all, as you likely know, and there is only yellows in New Mexico -- the winters there are dry and bare, but not bitter. I've never seen an east coast Autumn or Winter. I love Colorado because we do get official seasonal changes, with red, orange, yellow, and brown leaves.

I'm sorry this week was so stressful for you. I hope you get your bearings back and have a much better week.

[jlh.livejournal.com]

When I lived in Philadelphia I really missed the fall. On the other hand, it was the first time I'd ever experienced a proper spring. I like New York because I can have flowering trees in spring AND red leaves in fall.

Thanks so much. It will be better because I'll be home!

[misscora.livejournal.com]

printing is always neat anyway

Maybe for you, babe...

My cursive is a joke (looks like a seven year old is writing it) and my printing is near on illegible if you're not me. Which is nice here in JP, since it means my English Teachers can't read my notes about their classes...

[jlh.livejournal.com]

I have never seen such bad printing, but yeah, that would come quite in handy!

I am loving that icon, btw.

[misscora.livejournal.com]

Ok, well, technically it`s not quite that bad, as I know many native speakers who can usually decipher most of it (although when I`m in a hurry I occasionally come out with things even I`m not sure what they mean) but it`s definitely a no go for anyone without several dozen years of practice reading English. And yes, very handy.

Hee! Everybody is Disney crazy here, and downloading movies only takes a couple days or so, so I figured I needed The Emperor`s New Groove. Pretty evil kitty!

Maine

[skg.livejournal.com]

What you wrote about Maine was incredibly beautiful. I have similar feelings about upstate New York, and I think you captured it perfectly.

Hope your kitty is better soon. Mine keeps attacking me...

[adjudicated.livejournal.com]

Yes, I love the flowering trees too. We have three of them in our backyard -- apple trees. They smell so gorgeous in the Spring, and then it rains down petals for a couple weeks, which both smells great and looks cool. Of course the downside is I have about eight trillion apples to pick up from the lawn every summer/fall.

Home is good, yes.

[jlh.livejournal.com]

I have a whole Martha Stewart-esque fantasy about fruit trees, though I know it is a pain to harvest them. But mmm, apples. What do you usually do with them?

Hey, aren't you supposed to be finding me on YM? Hrm? I'm on most nights but not so much during the day.

Re: Maine

[jlh.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! Yeah, the northeast, much with the starkly beautiful.

Me too. I got her to stop really attacking me, and I can read the signs, but I still get some scratches and she isn't good with strangers, much. But she's calmed down a lot. Good luck!