Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Moon Mornings or - Unblocking Creativity

Yes it was the moon that made me want to do it, but this is actually a writing exercise.  Ten minutes, starting NOW:
The moon the moon... shining full in the morning, or 'looking fat and lonesome hanging down thru the trees' (Joy of Cooking) late 60's and Blue Mooooon, from the crooners, and of course Moon River.... was that the song from Breakfast at Tiffany's (never saw it but saw the song on youtube once) and then there are moons on the wane, and that "bad moon on the rise" (Creedence?).  But wait!  What about taking a moonbath!... oh that's the best.  Standing right under the shining rays of the moon and feeling light and energy being absorbed thru your pores.  Of course that's what you think, but whether or not it's really happening, that's for you to believe or not, because the fact of the matter is, the moon is the moon.... and it is whether you believe you've received its energy and light or not. 
And what about the Man in the Moon???? Now that's the person I'd love to meet... But could it be a woman?  La Luna in Spanish - a feminine moon, though we see a rabbit in the moon in Mexico!  Could it be a female rabbit?  In German it's Der Mond - a man!  The man in the moon! 
But I know there's more to be understood about the moon - the connection with the tides for instance. Have you seen it over the ocean at night, seen the slant of its rays sparkling up the ocean surface? Oh! It's a fantasy - all those winking flashes of tiny ripples - they look unreal, and yet they sparkle like they're more than real.  And then of course we can talk about those huge orange moons of October and November.  Now those are full moons not to be missed!  I've never seen a blue moon, not even once in a blue moon, but I've seen it many times with an aura around it - rainbow of colors in a shimmering fog around the bright-white pearl of the moon.  And have you seen the moon when it's a sliver, curving into the perfect profile of a young girl's head? Have you looked up and seen it in a dark black sky, and noticed the diamond-like stud next to her ear... a star!... all shining in silverlight. 
Oh yes, the moon the moon, what else can I say about the moon... Once I took a moonbath in my house.  I was standing under the skylight and there was no one but me awake to see it.  I looked up and felt its soft light bathing my face, I saw its shine behind my closed eyelids.  I let my robe fall and then the moon poured magic and light all over my body and I was full of moon energy...  
And yet, no one ever raves about the real moon - the one we know exists in space with its bumpy craters and grayish-white surface.  No, we prefer our moon - the moon we see from afar, reflecting all the raw magic and untamed beauty the real moon simply doesn't know what to do with.

The Morning Moon, still shining strong


Moon preparing to set

Moon-Set and Sun-Rise
Photos courtesy of Louisa Greathouse
Scenes courtesy of Mother Nature

Monday, September 5, 2011

Commemoration

I've been scanning old pictures lately.  It started when I explained to Carm that, contrary to her insistence upon having to spend a fortune on scanning at an internet cafĂ©, she could do it right here at home using our printer.  As I showed her how to use the scanning feature, I decided to go through our billions of old photos and scan the best of them.  I knew it would be a time-consuming job, so I put it on my mental to-do list for the future.

Two weeks later, when I was writing the blog about Friendships, I scanned the first batch.  I was looking for a photo from a trip we made in the early 90's, and I knew I didn't have a digital one of that trip.   Out came the huge bag of old photos - it's actually an old GAP portfolio-bag given to me by Fned a long time ago, which has 6 roomy compartments, 5 of them stuffed to the gills with photos, and the 6th containing all the negatives I still possess.  I can tell you it weighs a ton!  Anyway, I searched the bag through, and Carm came into the room as I was doing this, and got interested in the photos too.  I told her I was going to scan them a few at a time. 

After AndrĂ© mentioned in a comment about the friendship blog that old pictures are so interesting and should be scanned and preserved, I knew the day was coming.  I happen to have a week off in September and thought I would concentrate on that then.  In the end, however, I got a jump-start on the task yesterday, when I decided to do a photographic walk down memory lane to send in e-mail form to my parents on their 61st anniversary this weekend.  It turned out to be quite a process, but one which I found for the most part tremendously enjoyable.
And so, I've decided to post some other pictures from the past - a commemoration of sorts.  Fun times we shared, or just great moments that got snapped just in time!

Enjoy the scroll, and as you go, take a guess:  do you know who the babies are??? (hint: they don't go in any specific order)