The Ole Master Plan

The Morning After... And Royal Haiku!

Yes, my eyelids are puffy.  
Yes, I'm still in my jammies because getting dressed seems Hard.
Yes, the pageantry was lost on the kitties.

But I upheld tradition!  And I did it with blueberry pancakes and tea.  Not exactly a Yorkshire pudding, I grant you, but it made me happy.  

 Favorite Moment:  First glance of Prince William in his red tunic driving to Westminster Abbey with his brother. Goosebumps!  No one should lose their mom when just kids.  How can we not be happy for the boys? And I loved when Kate curtsied to the Queen.   

And now I bring you my Royal Fashion Haiku.   (throat clearing... mememmee!)

ODE TO ROYAL FASHION

Dapper morning suits,
Top hats and tails for the men,
Picture Fred Astaire.

Girls, let's bring back Hats!
Fascinators with feathers
Add just the right touch.

Would someone please tell
Posh Spice to look more pregnant,
less chic, to be fair.

Pippa's dress devine,
Kate a touch of Grace Kelly.
Classy sisters, both.

Queen of England sweet
In perfect butter yellow
Grandma should be hugged.

But fashion aside, 
Am confessing a new wish,
Call me Pippa, please!

Royal Nostalgia

Thursday night, I'll be camped on my sofa.  By 1:00 am Pacific time, I plan to be on my second batch of buttery popcorn.  Can I do it?  I'm usually out for the count by 10:45 pm, but this is not any night.  

It's a Royalty night!

In 1982, if you wanted to see Prince Charles and Lady Diana get married, you cow-girled up! You camped out!  You set an alarm!  You drank leaded coffee! 

And we did.  

Do I remember all of it?  Not really.  Mom was very excited.  She grew up on news of Prince Charles.  For me, it was a real live prince and princess.  I was 12.  I still had a pink bedspread and pictures of figure skaters on the back of my door.  I curled up on the couch under a pile of blankets, with my little white dog, Dandy.  The dim lights and the illicit feeling of being UP LATE were enough to keep me in the room.  

And ooh!  
Diana's long train!
The ruffly collar!  
And Prince Charles with a sword on his hip!  
I hoped the cute boy in 8th grade marry me and wear a sword...

That's the feeling I miss.  The Wonder.  

I'm happy for William & Kate, as they seem like nice people.  And I can't wait to see all the fashion and the parades.  For some reason, I'd love to give the Queen a big hug, grandma-style. 

But it's that feeling of awe - the wee hours, just me and mom, watching something Royal, that I want to revisit.  Mom now lives seven hours away, but I'll be picturing that night as I pile on the quilts, arrange the snacks on the coffee table, and sip my coffee.  

Thanks for the memories, Windsor Family!

****

Side note:  The pressure William & Kate are under...  No thank you.  When JP and I got married, we did not have the entire planet watching, nor were we memorialized by jelly bean art, pizza recreations, or Etch-a-Sketch shadings.  Have you seen these?  

UK Telegraph Royal Art

 

The French Maid, In the Dining Room, with a Soup Bone

I've said it before.  I'm a slow reader.  So, yes, I'm still in France with Julia.  And last night, I lost track of the characters.  

It was late.  I glossed over the french word in italics.  
It was late.  I saw the name Minette.  
It was late.  I thought Minette was their maid.
It was late.  Then I was laughing hysterically.

"The venison made a splendid dinner, with a rich, deep, gamy-tasting sauce, and for days afterward Paul and I feasted on its very special cold meat.  When the deer had given us its all, I offered the big leg-bone structure to Minette.  "Would you like to try this, poussiequette?"  I asked her, laying the platter on the floor.  She approached tentatively and sniffed.  Then the wild game signals must have hit her central nervous system, for she suddenly arched her back and, with hair standing on end, let out a snarling groowwwwllll!  She lunged at the bone and, grabbing it with her sharp teeth, dragged it out onto the living-room rug -- luckily a well-worn Oriental -- where she chewed at it for a good hour before stalking off."

Really, if Minette HAD been the maid, I'd have had to sack her.  Such unseemly behavior!  

Ahem.  Nice kitty.

Artist's Eye Behind the Lens

So one Sunday last summer, JP and I were visiting our friends Joe & Sara, in Tucson.  You know those mornings when everyone is quiet and contemplative, paging through a magazine or newpaper, sipping their coffee, in no particular hurry.   I call those mornings PERFECT.  

This one got even better when Joe suddenly snapped the morning newspaper in half to show us a photo.  With his name under the caption.  Whoo-Hoo!!!  I almost spilled my coffee. Apparently, it has happened before, but he didn't know this particular shot had been accepted.  

Now, Joe has an artist's eye and make no mistake.  How do I know?  

Because His Camera Is Not Fancy.  

 No detachable lenses.  No filtery thingies.   

But his scenic shots are in the newspaper semi-regularly and he is now selling cards of his photos in a few different shops.  His photo of Antelope Canyon, below, is above my fireplace.  

I find this so encouraging.  But also alarming.  What if my camera is good enough and I never get the Canon T3i of my dreams?  Will I live?  Alas, the odds are good that I will.  But I digress...

Here's a sample of what Joe sees through a lens.  Enjoy!  Oh, and check out his photoblog at http://ex-oculis.blogspot.com/

 

 

How's THAT for a dry desert?

 

This is Antelope Canyon, just outside Page, AZ.

 

Love the drama in this black and white.

And my new personal favorite....

Royal Wedding

Yep,  I'm looking forward to it.   Is anyone else planning to stay up and watch?  

Yes, I realize it's at 4:00 am EST, as in One Dark Hundred on the west coast.
No, we don't have a DVR.  
Yes, I realize it will be amply covered across cyberspace the next day and I could simply check it out when I wake up Friday.  

But who's with me?!

Hello?

This Week's Haiku

Due to the afternoon doctor visit, where he changed my medications from methotrexate to Imuran, a former foe, my haiku changed and is relocated under Life with WG. 

Enjoy!  =)

Haiku Fridays

Ode to Hairstyles

You can mark the time
by the style of my red hair
A snapshot of when.

Ponytails and bangs
gave way to bilevel perms.
What was I thinking?

Long hair with curls
or copying the Rachael,
You know the era.

Now it's time to cut.
Doc changed meds, cause side effects.
Thinning hair is one.

So!  Short hair is in!
Maybe a Posh cut is due.
Or perhaps a wedge.

If wigs come after,
JP wants one of his own,
The George Washington.

Hammock & Book Day.... or heck, just a day off

JP teases me.  When he tries to describe how great something is, he starts with, "Picture a good book while lying beside the pool."   (insert sad dog howl sound bite)  I want, I want!

Since our finances are currently on siesta leave, I'm reviewing what's already on my shelves, but somehow I never got around to.  Or, more precisely, started and loved, but got interrupted, and then got buried under other books.  

1. Love in the Driest Season, by Neely Tucker
2. Rebecca's Tale, by Sally Beauman
3. Tess of the D'urbervilles, by Thomas Hardy
4. A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens
5. Open & Shut, First Degree, and Sudden Death, all by  David Rosenfeld
6. La's Orchestra Saves the World, by Alexander McCall Smith
7. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, by Barbara Kingsolver

Clearly, I'm covered until such time as our duckets return from the South of France, but Oh! Oh! The Bookstores!  So many lovelies I want to swan dive into.  Dream lists to follow later, when I can stand the temptation.  If you're loving a good story right now, let me in on it.  Have library, will flash card.

Also, will someone kindly contact my boss and imitate last week's cough?

 

 

 

Blogger Ball

I'm a member of She Writes, an online community for women writers.  If you found this blog through our Blogger's Ball, I'm happy you're here.  Feel free to poke around my corner of the web, and please leave a comment to let me know you were here.  I hope you enjoy.

About me:  I'm a wannabe writer trying desperately to break free from  yee ole 8-5 job, or as I fondly think of it, the Hoover Deluxe Time & Joy Sucker.  I'll bet you can relate.  

Shakespeare, dude.

I just saw "The King's Speech."

Blissful sigh.   And then I babbled like a schoolgirl the whole way home, explaining in painful detail to JP why Geoffrey Rush auditioning for Richard III was so foreshadowy...  monster takeover of throne and all that.  "Now is the winter of our discontent, made glorious summer by this sun of York."   

I love Shakespeare.  
I love theater.
I love language.
I love words such as "Beshrew me, but I love her heartily!"

And yet, when I enthuse to Eden about Colin Firth and all his yumminess, well, there you go... I'm reduced to "yumminess," ending with gems like "dude."

"Did you see when he walks into the dining room as The King and there's Jennifer Ehle as Mrs. Logue, all done up to be older?  It was Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett!!"  

Eden responds enthusiastically.  

And I reply, "Dude!  I know!"

So, here's a cheer to the versatility of my most used bit of vocabulary.  I are eloquent.