Sunday early afternoon

Thinking about things: a somewhat unusual list for remembering

1. I visited my Evanston family last last week. We had lots of good times: walking [me and Brandon] and riding bikes [Skylar and Jordan and Dylan] all around their very beautiful neighborhood; reading books [me and Skylar and Jordan and Dylan] in the living room and in the girls' room upstairs; making squiggly designs and cards for each other [me and Skylar and Jordan]; sitting [aka hanging out] in the driveway under shade trees in the afternoon [mostly me and Brandon and various combination of kids]; looking for insects and bugs everywhere--especially cicadas [mostly Dylan]; having nice talks about everything [most especially me and Brandon and me and the kids and me and Stephanie]. I love love this Evanston family of mine.
2. Desie and I celebrated our one year anniversary of being together yesterday. She wore a lovely muted pink ribbon all day to mark the occasion and Shanan and Goose came by in the late afternoon for tea and biscuits [me and Shanan] and carrots [Desie and Goose]. While Shanan and I were chatting about things in the living room, quite unexpectedly Goose and Desie began playing and barking and growling at each other. [This is unusual because Goose most often shuns Desie's advances for play. She is such a puppy in need of frolicking and he is such a distinguished older brother wanting nothing to do with this younger sibling of his.] But on this occasion--perhaps they were in a celebratory mood--they carried on for quite a while--seemingly speaking their minds to one other, perhaps setting things straight on the cusp of a new year together. Just as suddenly as they began, they stopped and flopped down on the rug to recover. I love love this close-by family of mine.
3. And, I must report, during this lovely visit, Shanan and I continued our on-going discussion about Desie's looks: He thinks I need to get her a pink collar and some very overdue orthodontia for her underbite. I think she is beautiful just as she is.
4. In the early evening, as we do most days, Desie and I took a long walk over by the Claremont Canyon trail. This is one of the best parts of having this sweet girl of mine. Walks and snuggles and being together throughout the day.
5. I saw the movie BEGINNERS last night. I loved this movie. It is about love and aloneness and yearning. And how people go about their lives trying to understands themselves and their ideas about love and aloneness and yearning and, even more, trying to do something about it. There are also lots of graphic design and media segments going on throughout the film that definitely add to its serendipity. Here is what Manohla Dargis says in her New York Times Review: "There is all manner of love crisscrossing through “Beginners,” connecting mothers and fathers, parents and children, sons and lovers, men and their dogs. The love feels heartfelt but it’s difficult loving other people (the dog has it easy), a hardship that’s evident in the happy-tearful faces, the tentative touches and searching glances that make this movie, or maybe all its yearning, so appealing. For the writer and director Mike Mills, who based this memory piece about a straight son and his dying gay father on his own life, love is a wonder even if its palpable reality largely remains elusive, a hoped-for gift locked in an adjacent room."
6. This last phrase of Ms. Manohla's writing, "a hoped for gift locked in an adjacent room" is such a lovely image about love and yearning for thinking about.
7. I want to learn how to make BORSCHT and RATATOUILLE. I think Shanan and Leslie will help me with this.
8. I want to attend yoga class on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at the RSF. This will take discipline on my part.
9. I want to have really good students in my College Writing class this fall which is next week.
10. I want to be sure to make time for reading and writing for myself once school begins. This too will take lots of discipline.
11. I want to read the book I am reading on my porch.
12. I like reading to Skylar and Dylan and Jordan.