Pick me, pick me....

It was a long, long night of bright, bright moon…and two crazed kittens. I count the days left in the work week and balance that number against the number of actual hours of sleep over the past few nights. With thoughts leaking out my ears, I have spent the day securing sponsorships for an upcoming event and finalizing our presentation for a request for continued funding from a coalition this evening. I listen to news reports of potential inquiries into billions of dollars that have “disappeared” into Iraq. I am reminded that funding for our programming has been eliminated. Oliver Twist asked, “please, sir, may I have some more?” I ask: please may we have your crumbs. I figure crumbs from billions must be substantial.

Postscript to prior post...

Since I've moved up the day, I need to find a better solution for off the grid connectivity in rural Maine than sitting in my car on Main Street. Though whyI would expect a better solution is a tad silly since we're still cell phone challenged. Still, we're better off than Lisa and Oliver.

You Don't Need To Be A Weatherman To Know Which Way The Wind Blows

25 below today with the chilling winds. Winter has arrived in coastal Maine.

I have been thinking about my grandmother a good deal lately, and those two sentences brought her once more to the foreground of memory.

A calendar hung next to my grandmother’s chair at the kitchen table. Each morning one of the first things she did was to step outside to check the weather and read the thermometer. She would note the information on the calendar, along with other important facts. Things like … the ice was out of the pond. Saw first robin of the year. Or Dad died this day XX years ago. It was a colorfully consistent measure of the day and the passing of seasons and years.

My calendar travels with me. Each evening one of the last things that I do is to check my schedule for the coming day. My calendar measures appointments and mileage. It is an unremarkable, yet consistent, measure of the passing of my days.

I made a decision this week to change my calendar to one more like gram's. Although I’ve been planning a change in my life for a couple years now, I have moved the change date significantly forward. On July 1, my calendar will hang on the wall next to my cabin window. I will measure my days in sunrises, sprouting seeds, and songbirds.

I see my grandmother smiling.

To Begin With...

Well, kiddo, I've set the blog up. The word, Blog, doesn't "do much for me." I still prefer The Loft, so I'll keep that in mind when I think of this space. Since I'm on lunch break, this first post will be short. Who caught GWB last evening? Does anyone still have him? If so, make sure he's on the first plane if 20,000 more troops are deployed. A troop plane.