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Welcome to Ari-Wood. Step right up and see the sights. To your left, you will see the delicate fragility of fairy land. On the right, watch out for the fiery dragons. For your safety, we recommend you stay on the path and don't stray into the netherworlds of risk and chance. Alternatively, perhaps you like the benefits that go along with taking that chance..........
All rights to the poetry and stories in Ari-Wood
belong exclusively to the author.
That which is not mine,
That which is not good,
That which is not altruistic....
Is requested to leave.
******
The stories and poems encased in this crystal blog are written from my own imagination and in no way are intended to be viewed as written to any specific person unless I specifically state that it is.
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My heart is a book which you leaf through as simply as the pages of this blog..
Antiqued an worn
The words bleed
From a hidden place
Deep within my chapters
Where only one can see
And whispering spirits tarry
Frayed are my edges
Yet my gliding
Remains beautiful
Not a mere ornament
But a testament to the tooling
Which has geared my life
Sown tightly is my binding
I have weathered the years
I shine with wisdom an character
Like no other book
Yet my cover bares the marks
Of ordinary use
Turn my pages lightly
And you shall read
My hued memories
Of dreams and dreaminess
Of times and timelessness
Of lives and liveliness
Upon my inner pages
Are scribbled
Achromatic dreams
My love
My hopes
My life
You are such a treasured book
All my love, Sister of my heart
(Written by a special sister of my heart...MsAlchemy2...a special gift...I wanted to share.) |
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My Independence Day
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Jul 4, 2007 7:51 am
1722 Views
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Today, celebrating Independence Day, thinking about all the reasons I am so proud to be an American...and maybe wondering where we will go from here.
This country was founded on the idea of freedom; religious freedom, political freedom, personal freedom. Our founding fathers were strong, courageous, determined, stubborn, willing to risk all for those freedoms we cherish so much. They worked hard and were proud of what they accomplished, even when it wasn't as much as their neighbors. Still, we took terrible advantage of...and eventually decimated..the Native Americans; and we held slaves as personal property. Two sides of the same coin...the determination to be free...the willingness to do to someone else what we did not want done to us. Do we ever think of life that way?
Who are we today...and how did we move so far away from our beginnings? I listen to Bush talk about how we are a Christian country and I wonder when that changed. We were founded on the idea that as a country we would never be tied to one religion, one belief; we would allow and encourage people to believe freely.
We are an incredibly diverse people. We encourage people from other countries to move here and become a part of us. That diversity is what allows us to stretch and grow. New people, new cultures, new beliefs, new practices. Exposure to so many possibilities lets us find our own personal strengths...and use them. And yet...as we encourage people to move into our country, too many of us mistreat those same people. We employ them at underpaid jobs, treat them like pariahs, call them names, humiliate them.
We send a small fortune to other countries to help them live the lifestyle we've grown accustomed to. If another country suffers from a natural emergency, we are among the first countries to send in people, money, help. And yet, when a similar emergency hits our own country, we complain about having to help out our brother. We want them to follow our lead and live in safer, more congenial environments so that we won't have to help them out again. So generous...and so selfish.
We are some of the hardest working people in the world. We have a "can do" attitude and when we want a job done...we simply do it. And yet..we have begun to have a debilitating sense of entitlement. If our neighbor has more than us...something is wrong. We need the government to give us more...at our neighbor's expense. When did we become so self-centered?
We once had the best education system in the world. Our schooling was in the highest possible demand. Now, when we take applications from prospective employees, we note that half of them can't even spell the job they are applying for; grammar skills suck; math skills are worse. So...are we educating the rest of the world at the expense of our own people?
I love this country. I love all that we stand for. I love the freedom to choose whatever religion I want to practice, whatever politics I want to espouse...my choices, my freedoms, my strengths. Today we allow those freedoms to be stripped from us, systematically. We put governments into office and then fail to monitor the work they do. We have the power to control our own destiny, yet we allow a handful of people to choose for us, and we don't do anything to control the choices they make which violate our sense of direction.
This country has the power to be anything it wants to be. We have the ability to see a path and walk it with strength, dignity, forebearance..just as our forefathers did. Yet instead we live like sheep allowing others to choose the path we will walk.
This Independence Day, I'd like to challenge each one of you to examine your own world. Do you live the life you were born to live? Do you honor, respect, and guard your freedoms? Do you feel the world owes you...or you owe the world?
We can regrow this country...if each one of us steps up and says..."I can be better; I can be stronger; I can work harder; I can vote conscientiously; I can respect my neighbors rights; I can be smarter...I can..." Don't look at the world and say, "I want..." Instead...look at it and say, "I can do it...for myself...for those who cannot do it for themselves...for those who need me to help them...I can do it...I'm an American."
Happy Independence Day.
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Keeping busy
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Jul 3, 2007 10:20 pm
1592 Views
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Good havens...I am so tired...but it's a good and satisfying tired.
I worked all day today...monthend, you know. It was busy but not terribly hectic. I worked Saturday and Sunday tying up loose ends and this monthend went pretty smoothly.
Most peoples left work early today so I had no one to beat at Boggle...lol...hmmm...so I decided to play with myself. My boss says that abusing yourself...I simply figure...hey...I got to win again...lol... We actually have an ongoing game of Scrabble going...and for a change, I'm kicking Michelle's butt at. I like that...my opportunity to gloat. Her boss says there's something wrong with the picture if I'm winning...and it's not Boggle...lol..
Came home and it was hot as heck today. Well...hot for me...must have been...75...lol...ok...it was prolly closer to 90 something. Too hot for this delicate fairy...So...I curled up in front of the swamp oooler and thought about napping...but I had way too much to do.
I grouted the fake rock stuff on one side of my front door. I've never done that before. The first half of the wall was really hard while I figured out how to get the stuff into the cracks...and to stay in the cracks. I think I got as much grout on the pavement as I did on the wall. The second half went much easier as I finally figured out how the stuff works.
It's a mess right now, but I love how it's going to look. The fake rock stuff isn't exactly new...and it's clearly fake...but it's going to look great while I save up to re-side the house. So...I'm really happy...and it was a great day.
Now...I'm tired and it's about time for this stinky tink to head for the nearest leaf and curl up for a nap...lol..
Have a great Fourth of July, guys....I hope it's lots of fun..
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The Search
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Jul 2, 2007 9:33 pm
1644 Views
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I search for you within the silent places of the mist-filled forest. Careful steps over slick, moss-covered fallen logs lead me deeper. Silence is so thick it surrounds me like a cape; the absence of sound fascinates me and I call for you. I am not really surprised that I cannot hear my own words.
Trees drip with liquid leaves and dampen my skirt until it clings eerily to my skin. Sodden leaves covering the ground attach themselves to my feet; a most unusual slipper, yet it is as silent as this entombed wood. A faint miasma of fear hangs upon my spirit and I wonder if I am alone her. Still, I search for you.
My fingertips brush across the bark of a tree and I am distracted as I feel the sudden surge of life within it. My hands rest gently on the trunk as we exchange energy; a resurgence of the eagerness I felt as first I entered this place. I wish the tree well and send love and healing to it. I can feel the strength it returns to me and I press onward, hands ever before me as I search for you.
Hair running rivers down my back as the moisture embeds itself in the tangled strands. I brush a dangling lock across my forehead in a vain attempt to see more clearly. The density of the mist is all-encompassing and I cannot see my own feet at times. Yet, I do not abandon the search.
I can feel you within the forest; calling to my inner senses; a need so deep that I cannot resist; a love so strong it guides me ever onward; a drive so powerful that I am swept away in it's force as if I were captured in the ocean's strongest current. I cannot stop nor turn away. I can only search for you.
Fingers brush across my cheek as delicately as a summer breeze. I tremble with intermixed need and fear. Turning, my hands stretch before me and test each space for your presence. I know that you are near, but I am denied the vision. All I can do is search for you.
Sun burns away the mist as I step into the clearing. Crystal air enraptures my mind and I gaxe deeply into your eyes. You were born to guide; I was born to follow. Light my path and I will walk upon it. How long, my dearest, how long the search until I came upon you; one stumbling step at a time; one soul endlessly searching.
I cannot fault the heart that waits for me to find my way. This is the manner in which we are meant to grow; a single lesson, a simple faith. Trust comes only when we are weakest; only when our need is so great that it overcomes our fear. Thus we step into the future; following the path you have carved for us; adventuring into the next existence.
And having found the source of love and light; the guide to our path, our tomorrow, our destiny, still forward must we venture into the next experience. The searching has not ended; discovering your love is the first step into the future; and still we search for that which comes next.
In this place, in this time, I thank you for your patience. I am not always easily led to faith or strength. That you would stop and wait for me to catch up, that you would hold out a hand I refused to grasp for so long, that you would believe in me even when I did not believe in you; I am awe-struck at the will that kept you in place...waiting for one who might never come. It is my inspiration to wait in my turn, for one who might never come.
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Step Off
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Jul 1, 2007 9:52 pm
1857 Views
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You question if my heart is whole;
What makes you think I’d gift my soul
To one who dares demand a show?
You think you have the right to know
What ownership did I bestow
When did I ever sink that low?
It’s clear that you presume too much
Before my hand you even touch
In honesty, I have to say
I wish that you would go away
I owe you nothing, here and now
Step off the stage, you’ve had your bow
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What I Learned This Week
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Jun 30, 2007 4:13 pm
2319 Views
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Have you ever noticed how many lessons you learn each day? Lots and lots. Some are really great lessons you are glad to have learned...others are not. So...I decided to sit back and think about all the lessons I learned this week. Maybe writing them down will help me to remember them.
I learned that bright orange tomatoes taste wonderful...and that some people are silly enough to think they should taste like oranges because they are orange. Give me a break.
I learned that some men can't think through a problem without cursing and yelling...and that I'm finally brave enough to tell them to get a life...and stop yelling at me for their own screw-ups.
I learned that it makes no sense to argue with someone over what they did or didn't do. They remember it their way...you remember it yours...and all it does is make one or both of you angrier to argue about it.
I learned that you can puch the side of a putty knife through drywall.
I learned that you have to make a cut where the molding meets the drywall, to sever the paint...or you peel the paint right off the wall.
I learned that stipping....(wood)...sucks in the house.
I learned that if you don't brush the cat out every couple of days...your house will look like a cat from all the fur around it.
I learned that you can negotiate with a boss for what you want...if you are willing to give him something in return. I got an afternoon off in exchange for being on-call today and a couple of hours of work tomorrow.
I learned that it does no good to argue with someone in a store...even when they're wrong...because they won't negotiate. They are just right.
I learned that my body really does want something more like seven hours of sleep in a night. I haven't learned how to accomplish that regularly.
I learned that no sugar added, low fat ice cream made with skim milk and soy is delicious.
I learned that my friends are the most wonderful people in the world.
And what did you learn this week?
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Chance
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Jun 27, 2007 10:15 pm
2374 Views
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Life is a series of chances...opportunities. What we make of those chances is the prime indicator of the person we are. What we make of our greatest joys and greatest pains is indicative of how we live our lives.
I was thinking tonight *ducks*...I know...y'all would like me to stop thinking. Heck, I'd like it if I stopped thinking...at least long enough to sleep or something.
Anyway, I was thinking tonight of all the chance opportunities, circumstances, situations...that lead up to where we are today. So many intersections in life...and what leads us to choose any given one? How did we get here from there?
Chance...the family we are born into...or is it choice? Did we choose the life, family, circumstances of our growing? Chance...the schools we went to, people we became friends with, people we learned from. Chance...the people we met, experiences that happened.
Change how you reacted to any one of those "chance" situations...and you may have just changed the person you are today...the life you are choosing to live...the way you are choosing to present yourself. Chance...and choice.
We meet a dozen people in a day...and two become friends. What made us choose those two? How weould we be different if we chose a different person as a friend? How would they be different?
Chance. It was chance that I came here. It was a simple mistake...and yet...was it? I have loved this place and all the people in it. I have learned so much from each one of you...even when I've hated the lesson. I have stretched and grown...I have healed and shared. And I never ever meant to be here. This place is so unlike the me I once was.
Chance...that I met a woman who had the ability to guide me in healing myself. Chance...the we reopened the doors of that friendship. Pure chance. It could so easily have been forgotten in the dust of time...and yet...it wasn't. And when the time was right...the process was begun.
Chance...each of you coming to this place...at this point in time...to touch my heart and so many others. Chance....
So much of life is premised with a chance...and a choice. What choices will you make of the chances that come your way today?
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Listen
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Jun 27, 2007 10:06 pm
2189 Views
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Listen
Wind whispers as it guides
Pressing you onward into tomorrow
Teasing steps you take as it
Undulates
Listen
Water murmurs in sibilance
Tasting absently at your pain
Lapping at remnants as it
Coruscates
Listen
Earth thrums vibrantly
Testing the silken threads of connection
Each life to another as it
Resonates
Listen
Souls echo with certainty
Entangled webs shatter distances
Enjoining spirits as they
Celebrate.
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Staying Young.....
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Jun 26, 2007 10:44 pm
2207 Views
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Have you ever seen yourself as your going to look when you finally grow old? lol...hmmm...I'm not growing old. Never...not going to happen.
I sanded part of my newly discovered cabinet tonight...heck, that's going to be a slow process. When I finished, I realized my hands were just ghastly with dust...so...I went and washed my hands and arms. Then I realized I needed to visit the ladies room...so I did.
As I walked back out, I happened to catch a view of myself in the mirror. My dark hair was more white than dark...as if the color had been leeched out of three quarters of it...and I had dust all over my face. Have you ever noticed how, when you drain the color from something...it simply looks old?
I'm going to be a really pitiful old woman...so it's just not going to happen. This fairy is staying young. Send pixie dust, please.
Night all.
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My Find....
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Jun 26, 2007 7:12 pm
2178 Views
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Ok...I just have to share this. I was getting ready to paint a built-in corner cabinet in my living room....I love the way it's made, I hate the color (it's painted cream). So...just before I started painting it to match the rest of the room, I realized it wasn't drywall...it's all wood. So...I sanded a section down...and it is just beautiful pine. I'm sooooooooooo going to love sanding and staining it. What a beautiful accent to the living room. Now I want to have a second one built for the other corner of the living room. Guess I'll see first how it comes out...but I'm really excited about this find. I just always thought it was simply drywall....woooohooo....
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13
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Today
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Jun 24, 2007 6:39 pm
2390 Views
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When I moved out of my parent's house, I didn't know a thing about cooking. My mother wasn't big on us actually preparing the meal...she would put it together...or my father...and leave us instructions on how to cook it. So....my poor ex...had to put up with some really interesting meals.
I loved to buy cookbooks and search for new recipes I could try...but I was a really bad cook...so it was hit or miss on whether or not the meal would be worth eating. Of course, I slowly learned to cook certain meals really well...but I wasn't always consistent.
I think the worst meal I ever made was...well..heck, my ex loved liver. I loathe liver and won't allow it in my house. I can't stand the smell of it cooking...it makes me want to be sick. But, I was a good little wife for a while. So...one night I was trying to please him a lot. I found a recipe for liver soup. I made it...and even put dumplings in it. It was the nastiest, worst meal I can think of even now. Blech....want some? I still have the recipe somewhere....
As time went on, I became quite a good cook. Most people love the meals I make...as long as I know first if they like food spicy or not. I love fiery meals...but I've been known to cook a meal way too hot for other people...so I always ask now. And if people dislike fiery foods...I cook them with minimal seasonings. I've gotten pretty good at estimating how much of each pepper will make a meal ok for everyone else...and how much I love to eat.
I made nachos tonight....my very favorite dinner. I usually mix the meat with a can of jalapenos or green chilis. This week, the store didn't have any hot jalapenos or chilis, so I decided to do the very best thing. I bought fresh. I cut them all up and dumped them in the pan with the meat...but then I got worried about whether the meat would be spicy enough. So...I popped one of the slices into my mouth.
OMG...I learned a lesson about peppers tonight. I'm sharing it with you in the hope that none of you cause permanent damage to your own systems.
I popped that sliced pepper in my mouth and ate it. It took less than 3 seconds for my tongue to begin burning. In 5 seconds I was gulping a glass of water. It took two glasses of water and two slices of bread to remove the burning in my mouth.
I'm thinking the jalapeno growers of America should get a bonus this year. My mouth is scalded; my tongue fried out of my mouth; I can't speak to save my life....(j/k). Someone should get good money for shutting me up.
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