SUNDAY POETRY: "FLYING FISH"

  Sunday: The day to indulge a poetry addiction.

Flying Fish

by Carl Sandburg

I have lived in many half-worlds myself... and so I know you.

I leaned at a deck rail watching a monotonous sea, the same circling birds and the same plunge of furrows carved by the plowing keel.

I leaned so... and you fluttered struggling between two waves in the air now... and then under the water and out again... a fish... a bird... a fin thing... a wing thing.

Child of water, child of air, fin thing and wing thing... I have lived in many half-worlds myself... and so I know you.

Photograph of a flying gurnard by Elaine Duigenan

OUTTAKES: THE BACKSTORY

 
As usual in writing a book, a lot of good stuff ends up on the cutting room floor, so to speak. This outtake was hard to let go of, more so because I didn't write it:

Gently they go, the beautiful, the tender, the kind;
Quietly they go, the intelligent, the witty, the brave.
I know. But I do not approve. And I am not resigned.

-Edna St. Vincent Millay
Dirge Without Music

THE LONG-DISTANCE WANDERINGS OF LEATHERBACKS

I'm on a leatherback sea turtle thread at the moment—not the sole focus of DEEP BLUE HOME... but recurring characters. I love their wanderings.

Seriously cool-beans stuff is coming out of satellite tagging of these awesome creatures. Check out the track maps at the Caribbean Conservation Corporation.

You can adopt a leatherback and help fund the conservation work. I just adopted the lovely Panamanian leatherback Naya.

From the CCC website:

"NAVIGATION: In the open ocean, sea turtles encounter strong currents; they have only modest vision, they can only raise their heads several inches out of the water, and there are often no visible landmarks. Even with these limitations, sea turtles regularly navigate long distances to find the same tiny stretch of nesting beach. How they do it is one of the greatest mysteries in the animal kingdom, and finding an answer has been the focus of generations of researchers. One promising new theory on how sea turtles navigate suggests that they can detect both the angle and intensity of the earth's magnetic field. Using these two characteristics, a sea turtle may be able to determine its latitude and longitude, enabling it to navigate virtually anywhere. Early experiments seem to prove that sea turtles have the ability to detect magnetic fields. Whether they actually use this ability to navigate is the next theory being investigated."

new blog design and a few of my faves

it took me all day but i’ve finally gotten my blog to look like i want it to.  html code is not the easiest thing to learn, and i by no means learned all there is to know.  i did learn enough to give my blog a complete design overhaul though.  i also updated my website thanks to some tips from my friend lindsay.  i wish i could have edited my actual company website to look more like my blog but i’m limited to the webs.com templates.  at least the colors and backgrounds are similar.  i feel like the new blog and website definitely reflect my personal style a lot more than the old designs. 

i have a really large handful of blogs that i read every day.  i’m so drawn to the blogs with a great designs.  here are just a few of my favorites.  if any of these are new to you please go check them out.  not only do these blogs have a funky and fun design but they are also great reads.

Little Green Notebook

High-Heeled Foot in the Door

urban grace

coco+kelley

Making it Lovely

Holly Mathis Interiors

design*sponge

The Lettered Cottage

Design Esquire

LiveJournal Tags: blogs,blog design

RANDOM EXCERPT FROM "DEEP BLUE HOME:" SEA TURTLES IN THE ICE REALM

"It's not surprising to see a leatherback up here
on the edge of the ice, since this is one of the most traveled
of all vertebrate species, perpetually on the move along
jellyfish highways between the tropics and the high latitudes."

DEEP BLUE HOME
-Chapter 14
The Distant Geography of Water

Photo courtesy COML.org

SWIMMING TOWARD THE LIGHT

The book is really on its way.













Working through copyediting,
proofreading, blurbing, printing,
and all the months of detail work
between typing The End
and appearing on the New Nonfiction rack.

Birth date 9 July 2010.

I'm starting to feel a flutter in my stomach.

COMING SOON!

A new book.
























A new blog.

One to elucidate the other.

Please check back.

Tea Rose Home in a Bed and Breakfast

Posted by Mr. Tea Rose Home on behalf of Mrs. Tea Rose Home.

Hi everyone! I know I usually update my post on Fridays. Today's post is a little boring, so bear it with me. I went in to the hospital to get a procedure done this morning. Even though I'm home, I can't do much right now. For those of you who are new to this blog you might be wondering, "What procedure?".... No I didn't get plastic surgery or anything like that to improve future pictures of me. If you want to find out go here, it will explain a little of my condition.

The procedure is pretty routine for me, so I am OK. Besides, Mr. Tea Rose Home is taking good care of me. I should be able get up and resume my regular schedule sometime next week.

Meanwhile, It is the perfect time for me to catch up on my reading and I might be having a breakfast in bed. So I can't complain.

So Everyone, Have a nice weekend and see you all next week!

Mr. Tea Rose Home: Well that's it folks, I guess I have to try and figure out what to do for breakfast. "Honey! Where do you keep the milk!?"

White, Silver and Wood

With Hubby out of town all week, I decided to paint our kitchen walls. But let me just say (in case I've implied otherwise), that I absolutely dread painting. I think by far the hardest part for me is just getting started.

For example, I put on my calender "Paint Kitchen Tuesday." Wednesday came and about 5pm, I called my Mom and said, "ugh, I have to paint the kitchen today...at some point." It was 6pm before I started and almost midnight before I finished.

I painted the walls Simply White (eggshell finish), which is the color we used on the cabinets, shelves and trim (in semi-gloss). With a fresh clean slate, I then experimented with creating a not so kitcheny kitchen!

Jennifer over at The Newlywed Diaries inspired me with this post! As I began gathering up some not-so-kitcheny items, I started to gravitate towards all things white, silver and wood.



I added a clock, some candlesticks, an alabaster bud vase that I put toothpicks in (to add some wood) and my sweet little owl figurine.

I didn't spend very much time on arranging things - can you tell? I sort of began with the basics of all the whitewear dishes and drinking glasses we'd be using on a regular basis. To balance out those kitchen items, I added my Grandmother's old candelabra, her big silver tray and her old little lamb print...oh, and her old owl print that I reframed. xo

I tried to break away from my previous tendency to create too much symmetry. I still tried to balance things out, but in a more irregular way.

I like how the light reflects on the silver things.

I also really love my owl figurine.

And look, here we are...I think this will be Hubby's favorite not so kitcheny addition to our shelves. xoxo

loving…

1.  this very cool wall that was featured on design*sponge.  i can’t imagine the time it took to create this.  see the whole story here.

2.  beautiful tile.  i saw it here on this blog.

3.  this very cool tutorial on how to make your own industrial chandelier.  i saw it on d*s.

4.  lisa fontanarosa pillows.  pillows don’t get much prettier than this.

5.  this darling alphabet wall.  saw it here.

i’ve been out of town the last few weekends so i’m looking forward to a weekend in town with my hubby.  hope you all have a fab weekend.

LiveJournal Tags: design sponge,tile,lighting,lisa fontanarosa pillows,loving...

Tutorial~ Sweater to a Make Believe Tweed Jacket~

Before I show you this tutorial, let me talk about myself and clothing a little bit.

As I mentioned before, I like clothes. In fact, I like so many different styles that it is hard for me to say, "this is my style". Although there is one thing I have noticed about myself and that is after I experiment with many differnt stlyes, I always go back to the classic feminine stlye. There is a reason why.

I was in Junior high at that time, It was one late night. I could not go to sleep. (I was a night owl back then too). I decided to watch TV for a little bit and flipping through the channels, I found an old Movie. The actress was so beautiful and the clothing she wore in the movie was so classy and captivating.

Later I found out that the actress was Audrey Hepburn, and the movie was called "Breakfast in Tiffany's"... After that I watched "Roman Holiday", "My Fair Lady", "Sabrina", and "Charade". A few years ago on Valentine's day, my husband got me a bunch of Abdrey's DVD's!

I love how she carried herself (always with a great posture and smile) in those movies, and the clothes she wore had class. Not too revealing, yet very feminine. I must say, whenever I watch her movies, they are always fresh and inspiring. I never get tired of them. To me, Audry and the clothes she wore will never go out of style.

Lateley I have been wanting a tweed jacket. Perhaps, something like you see in Audrey's movies. No collar, fitted, it is so beautiful that, as I wear it, my back will straighten, I might feel I could be like Audrey...classic beauty...

But, hey, do I live life like that? Hmmm...maybe not, first of all, where am I going to wear it? I can't cook, clean and drive around like a maniac (sometimes) to school, to after school activities, to the groceries, etc. I should get something more real for now.

So, I went shopping IN MY CLOSET. Then, I found this old sweater I haven't touched for several years. Then, the idea came to me...


For those who read looong intro, THANK YOU! Ok, I will show you what I did.

You will need:

One old sweater (mine was cotton and spandex combined i think...)

Less then half a yard of knit fabric, and thread that matches

If you want to make your own button, a button making kit

How to:

1. Draw a line in the middle and cut! There is no turning back at this point...


2. I found the knit fabric in Joann's clearance section. It is a little darker than the sweater, but it goes well together.


Cut 2 pieces of 2" x whatever the length of the edges of the sweater. Fold the strips in half, so you will know the center of the fabric. Cover the edges, pin them and sew.

3. Measure the length of the front openings and around the neck. Add those numbers to figure out how long you will need the strip to be to make ruffles. I recommend to have at least 2-3 times its length.

Cut, 2-3 pieces of 2" wide x width of the fabrics strips to make ruffles. Piece the strips together and make a long strip.


4. Make ruffles. (If you need to see how to make ruffles, go here)

5. Pin the finished ruffles all around the edge.


6. Sew the ruffle on both sides of the big stitches. It is ideal to sew 1/8" next to the line. So, both sides combined, it will be 1/4" wide. Pull out the middle stitch from the ruffle.


After this you can say you are done. If you want to add more details to the sweater, keep reading.

{BUTTON}

I got carried away and decided to stitch and make my own button. You can buy button making kits at Joann's, or, you can buy button.


Also, I cut 1" x 8" fabric and made a rope to close the button.





{Pocket}

I also added a fake pocket opening to each side.

1. Iron a strip of interfacing in the back of the area you want the fake pocket.


2. Pin a fabric(1" X 4") in front (make sure that it is on top of the interfacing).


3. Sew in the middle


4. Fold the top half to the bottom edge, pin and sew the sides and the bottom.




{Sleeves}

1. Measure the circumference of the sleeve opening. Cut 1" x (whatever the lengh of the opening X 2 or 3) to make the ruffles for the sleeves.


2. Pin it, and sew. I must say that it was a little tricky since the opening is so small, but if you do it slowly you should be fine.


My Jacket is not quite like Audrey's but I like how it turned out.


It is pink and ruffley, I like to pair it with jeans or cargo pants so it won't be overly feminine. It is very flexible and comfortable, since it was a sweater before. Perfect for someone like me... I will take baby steps on the path to become like Audrey.