Shiny Tree-ts

Sometimes life with no filter is extremely colorful and a little blurry.  Still it makes me smile.

O'Hare through the Windshield
Pre-Christmas 2014

Breaking the Chain

With the news of the day, I'd like to highlight No Fear For Freedom by Kimberly P. Johnson.  This children's book tells the story of the Friendship Nine who were arrested after a sit-in in 1961 in Rock Hill, South Carolina and left with the option to serve 30 days on a chain gang or pay a $100 fine.  Today (nearly 54 years later), the story gets a happier ending.

“We cannot rewrite history, but we can right history,” said the judge, John C. Hayes III, the chief administrative judge for South Carolina’s 16th Judicial Circuit. “Now, as to the Friendship Nine, is the time and opportunity to do so. Now is the time to recognize that justice is not temporal, but is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.”

- Richard Fausset, New York Times, January 28, 2015

Can I Get a Motion?

Things one can do when the weather is less than optimal:

• Long run at 32 degrees
• Drink coffee and make breakfast
• Buy "Love" stamps for love letters
• Clean out your closet (including the lingering bridesmaid dress that you, in fact, never wore again)
• Bike at 43 degrees
• Drink coffee and make dinner
• Wear compression socks
• Knit
• Binge watch Netflix

Hope your Saturday has been warm and full of things that make you smile.

The Love Snap

I have had a lull in novel reading (mainly due to a little knitting project) but I'm sneaking in excerpts from Women in Clothes by a host of over 600 contributors.  These stories are fascinating.

"I Always Liked the Pearl Snap" by Nikki Hausler as told to Mary Mann got my attention as I went through a period of only wearing snap shirts (and dating men who moved to It City to become famous song-writers).  For me, it was the sure, light sound of the quick unsnap and the lure of those not quite shiny pearl snaps.

"What I Wore to Fall in Love" by Sarah Nicole Prickett had me holding my breath.  I was wearing a pair of cropped black pants paired with long black Italian boots that had wood heels. This was matched with a red sleeveless sweater with a low neckline and a black wool 3/4 length cardigan.  Everyone else was wearing a skirt.  He asked me, "was this seat taken?" (the last time I fell in love).

42K

I believe I was under the residual influence of the ten minutes of "Yes Man" that I watched last Thursday while on the treadmill when I agreed to an hour long boot camp experience after my five-mile run.  I was still thawing out during our warm up so it wasn't until we were greeted with the workout, Sabados Caliente, that I knew I was in trouble.  I have worked my way through enough Duolingo to translate most of the items however I did get the opportunity to ask "cómo se dice 'vomit'?" to our coach before the set "C" workout.  [It's important to take every opportunity to increase one's vocabulary.]

At the end of the workout while cooling down over foam rollers [a love/hate relationship], I did get the chance to talk about books.  While I was trying to reign in my breath, another gentleman was recommending "Leading with the Heart" by Mike Krzyzewski.  Our household enjoyed sports and Coach K was always headlining discussions while I still lived at home.  I've added this to my list for inspiration since I also managed to agree to a LONG distance run in the fall.

I Walk and See Lines

Sometimes one needs to have a hiatus from something to determine whether or not that thing brings joy or whether it has become a habit to fill time and pass the present.  Since my last city move, I've done this annually with reading water, periodically with music, occasionally with dating, and this year with writing.

As I was cleaning out old boxes last weekend, I found journals from the late 80s and thumbed through a few.  Even then, I had pages each day to write.  [Content of course was a little mundane but how much excitement can one have in high school in rural america pre-cell phone? But oh my, at the bubble cursive!]

I've also been working on being in the present.  I have found this has reduced quite a bit of anxiety and my lung capacity has likely increased by at least one-third from all the random deep breaths.  I now notice a bit more on random walks, like colors projected on a building with a hint of a moon in the background.

So here we are, Friday.  I hope yours carries the color of happy.

Downtown Rocket City
(via unfiltered iphone)
January 2015