Single Serving Haagen Dazs

Did Haagen Dazs make this single serving ice cream especially for Fawn? She thinks so! Fawnie girl LOVES ice cream and eats so neatly from a spoon! Ed and I just couldn't have our gelato for desert without also feeding Fawn her ice cream. She thinks this is normal for dogs.

Trying Out... White Shoulders by Evyan

Ok, so if you've read my previous post about losing Clinique's Happy To Be as my favorite, long-time fragrance, you know about my efforts to find a replacement. I've been doing some searching online, and discovered a fabulous website that knows all things about fragrances! I've learned more about fragrances here than I have known all my life!

So... I've also learned that just because a fragrance is available at a drugstore counter does NOT mean it is a "cheap" fragrance! As a matter of fact, some of the fragrances I wore in college are now available in drugstores, and that's how I wound up revisiting an old time favorite, White Shoulders by Evyan. It's definitely not like the fragrances I've worn over the last 10+ years, but it is nice to revisit and I'm wearing it today. It has a deeper note to it and I do love the gardenia presence. I wouldn't wear this in the middle of the summer, but I do like it now when spring is still gloomy and grey. It's a comforting, floral fragrance and I don't think I'd wear it everyday. However, it's nice for a now and then scent. At just past twenty plus dollars, it's one to have in your fragrance wardrobe. Glad to rediscover and old friend!

Lost Fragrance

In search of a replacement for my favorite fragrance... Clinique's Happy-To-Be (not to be confused with Happy or Happy Heart!). I've worn Happy-To-Be since it frst came out in 2005, and have always loved it! It is long wearing and has a fresh scent.

I've always loved this fragrance and was content to wear only this one and none other for years! That's all changed now as it has been discontinued. I did manage to find a bottle online, but I prefer to stick with a current, easily-available fragrance... so now I'm on the hunt for something new...guess I'll walk around smelling like a perfume counter until I've conquered my quest!!!

Lighthouse by Eugenia Price

Lighthouse by Eugenia Price is a book written in the 1960s about the deep South before it became the deep South. It is the story of James Gould, a young man from Massachussetts in the late 1700's who needed to go away from home to make a name for himself. Like most stories, the hero finds trouble, overcomes obstacles, finds love and then life seems perfect, only to lose everything due to circumstances, rebuilds his life, and so on. This is classified as a historical novel because Eugenia Price, dentist turned writer, has based this story on real people who lived in the times she describes.

I was in the mood for a book about the South, because we're headed to a few days in South Carolina, and this book seemed to fit the bill...somewhat. When I said it was written in the 1960's that was an important notation, because Price has created a very strong Negro dialect in the story that diminishes her writing talent. The story itself is basic, and somewhat disappointing but then in an epilogue Price herself writes that although this is the first book in the St. Simons trilogy, it was also the last book written in the trilogy. The ending seems awkward and clearly sets the stage for book two. So now on to Beloved Invader, book two in the St. Simons trilogy.

Snow- Mother Nature's Frosting

It's been snowing like crazy today-- constantly and in wet, heavy flakes. The schools dismissed at 10:30 AM as this snow caught everyone a bit by surprise!

Since it's Ed's birthday today, I think Mother Nature is making the snow the frosting on Ed's birthday cake!

On behalf of Mother Nature, Happy Birthday, Ed!!!

Celebrating Ed's Birthday 2013

On this cold and wintry Palm Sunday, we decided to warm it up a bit and celebrate Ed's birthday a day early. His birthday is on March 25, but since this was Sunday it just worked better for us all to go out to dinner to enjoy time together. In our family, the celebratee gets to chose the restuarant, and Ed chose the Big Fish Grill on the Riverfront. As difficult as we are to please, we all agreed this was a place we liked... and most important, Ed liked this place!

DE Coalition of End of Life Awards Dinner

Some people just do the amazing work that the rest of us are either not equipped to do or find so very difficult doing... working with end of life (aka death) issues. This was a work occassion, since Wilmu is a sponsor for this coalition. I met some wonderful people this evening, and truly appreciate the good work they do! DE Secretary of Health & Human Services Rita Landgraff was a guest speaker, and she did and excellent job of bringing home the point that death is a transition point in life... we can't avoid it but we sure do try! According to statistics, soon Delaware will rank 9th in the USA for having a population over 60 years old. The Delaware End-of-Life Coalition should be seen as a resource for that point when we all have to deal with difficult conversations and decisions about the end of life.

Spring Has Sprung!

Almost on a daily basis I get up in the morning to look out and ask "Is it Spring yet?" We've had a few days here and there that have been teasers, but lately it's been wintry cold. Yesterday Fawnie and I went out looking for Spring, but we didn't see it anywhere. This morning though, we found some promise that Spring is on the way!

Last year Phillip planted a peach tree, and its buds show it has survived the winter! That's a hopeful sign, right? It can't be easy surviving winter when you're just a baby tree!

Cold March Sunday

It's St. Patrick's Day and cold! For all my Irish friends-- wishing you a special day! For Fawn and I, we went searching for Spring in the neighborhood, but everything still looked a bit dreary...

In Search of the Perfect Bag

I'm getting ready to go into the field to do research and will be travelling a lot to gather data... so I'm in search of the "perfect" bag. It has to be the perfect bag to carry on a plane when I fly, or to tote my laptop and notebooks when I'm on site, or to carry all through conferences this summer... in other words, this bag has to perform many functions, so it has to be perfect! I'm looking for form and function... and am not ready to "settle" for anything less. I want to look great carrying this bag, and the bag has to look great with me! My choices have narrowed between these two bags. The top bag is by Lo and Sons from NYC. Both bags are constructed with nylon fabric which will make them lighter weight than leather bags. The bag below is by Tumi. What appeals to me about this bag is the shape and also that it has various pockets and compartments. What I like about it is its shape and the inside compartments. Both are pricey, so this decision will not be made easily. Unfortunately, since both bags are only available online, I can't actually hold and touch it to check it out, so I read reviews, and more reviews. I watch videos, check out FB, and so forth. A lot of work for choosing abag, right? Which one would you suggest?

Lazy, Dreary March Saturday

It's a rainy, dreary, cold March Saturday, and besides running a few errands and following up on some work and research items, I've been lazy today. I did accomplish a brisk exercise walk this morning, and soon after it began to snow which turned into rain. I'd love to start a new book, but I'm afraid it will distract me from doctoral readings, so instead I've opted to check out Netflix. There I discovered a mini-series made for television that never actually aired in the US that I know of... The Kennedys. Even after all these years, can we ever get enough of the Kennedys? What I find most interesting is the blurring of lines between history and fiction... it's a natural phenomena, and I suppose, unavoidable when history is retold as a mass media story intended to entertain, and without the checks and balances of quality control and fact finding. That said, I am enjoying the series and reliving a bit of history on this cold and dreary Saturday in March. Tomorrow...start some work on coding.

The Dilemma of Hair

Unlike most women, I hate having my hair done! However, mother nature and time have necessitated monthly visits to the hairdresser for "refreshing" the color of my dark tresses. For over 10 years I went to Michael Christopher's on Pennsylvania Avenue, and while I still have a soft spot for the salon and it feels like my hair "home," I've decided to expand my options and try another place. Hence, SILK. It's a tiny place, but Dani Wirt, my hairdresser is a BIG find!!! She's marvelous! Customer focused, always happy and cheerful, and willing to put up with my fickle changes of "long," "short," no "long again," etc. My naturally wavy hair isn't all that easy to maintain and if it isn't cut correctly, it flattens out and lays blah. The salon itself is faily new, not quite a year old, and small. It's tucked toward the back of a small strip shopping center. The shop is quite small, a negative, and the chairs are awful, another negative. However, I like the way Dani does my hair, so that's a positive.

Pablo Neruda & Human Existence

“Someday, somewhere - anywhere, unfailingly, you'll find yourself, and that, and only that, can be the happiest or bitterest hour of your life.” ― Pablo Neruda

"reality is an invention of observers" 

My introduction to Pablo Neruda was in my doctoral program at GWU in 2006, when we studied Maturana and Varela, and I was the TA for our course in Chile called Human Existence. The intention of our study abroad course was to actually meet with Maturana, a Chilean philosopher. However, his popularity came at a steep price, and shortly before our departure, we knew we likely wouldn't meet with him because of his price. We went to study in the mountains of Chile anyway, led by Dr. Clyde Croswell, our fearless former Marine turned professor who led us in a quest to examine who we are and what our purpose in life was. 

Maturana introduced us to autopoeisis, an autonomous and operationally closed system, much like a living cell, which replicates itself because the system is self-sustaining. I'm simplifying this, of course, because i still don't understand all of autopoeisis, but it sure was fun studying it and questioning who we are and who we want to be. 

I celebrated a birthday in Chile, and when I shut my eyes, my favorite image is of Pablo Neruda's house, which is somewhat ironic, given that I was quite hungover the day we toured. 

Neruda built his house in segments along the ocean, and loved to collect glass cast up from the sea. This is the image imprinted in my brain, and when I can't sleep, this comes to mind. 

This is the view from Neruda's house... this is the picture I place in my mind's eye when I think of perfection! I believe that who we become is formed by the mental images we hold... so I hold this mental image of beauty and wait to see how it plays a role, if any, in my autopoetic system. 

Smilebox Collage

This free collage personalized with Smilebox

A Fawnie Walk

Spring has sprung and Fawnie took me for a walk. Of course, the walk is on her terms, and we have to stop and sniff whenever she wants to! She's definitely a leader when walking, and I have to just follow. Guess that's the result of her breed as a seeing eye dog.

Sunday Morning Breakfast

When the clocks change to daylight savings time, in my mind it's officially Spring! Although 6:30 AM came while it was still a bit dark, within 20 minutes daylight appeared, and so, losing an hour of sleep didn't seem so bad. We made 9 o'clock mass on time, and then enjoyed breakfast afterward. Oh happy sunny day!!!