She Walked Away

Be my Valentine, Brad Zellar

This dedication is found in Brad Zellar's "House of Coates".

“Here’s to the prisoners of disenchantment, the lost, broken men bullied and inoculated against hope as children and eventually immunized against all notice or attention. To the lost boys and invisible men. To those who have been carved small by the glaciers of time and memory. To the fundamentally amnesiac, nurturers of the selective oblivion of the neglected. To the men who keep secrets even from themselves. To the ceaselessly retreating armies of the lonely. To the men who play hide and seek. Here’s to Lester B. Morrison.”

Really, Brad Zellar, why is every word you write a hot steel blade that tears into my flesh?

And, in case you missed a previous recommendation to you, this might be the only blog worth reading, most days:

 

http://yourmanforfuninrapidan.blogspot.com/

 

 

 

 

 

Unrest in these, the cold days of a never-ending winter.

Over the holidays, my sister had some personal issues gang up on her all at once - leaving her feeling unsafe and vulnerable. My advice to her - because she asked - was to look at the part or parts of her life that she still had control over, and focus on that. 

I find myself in a different but similar circumstance to hers several months ago. Nothing seems to be working and I am desperately clutching at anything I think might be permanent or at least temporarily stable.

I do not have studio space in which to paint at the moment, but I have devised a painting assignment for myself and am preparing to start painting with oils as soon as the weather breaks a little.

This winter has been particularly hard and I am not handling the constant snow, below zero temperatures, and cabin fever associated with it. My roof still has one of the three trees that fell on it in early January frozen into the ice dam. The few days the temperature was above freezing were not enough to resolve the situation, or even to allow me to pull the tree off of the roof to prevent further damage (or even to assess the damage already done.

The good things: My pets are always happy to see me. I have a place to sleep. I have select friends who check in on my from time to time. Not that I need help, really, but I like the connection.

 

Still here...

I am working on a new name for this blog (damned if there isn't a Lois the Librarian on blogspot).

Librarian doesn't really define me these days anyway. I am working in archives management, and I have a gnawing in the pit of my stomach for time and space to paint.

I'll be back shortly. Hopefully with a clever new moniker.