Strange Poetry

Strange poetry
creeps around corners
and follows me with stealth
and ease.

It whispers in the steady hum
of an underground train,
laughs
as its rhythms reveal
all the loose places
on tired bodies.

It sings
accompanied by a symphony
of take-off
and eventual landing.

It shouts
as weary travellers
remove their inhibitions
and return
to woodsmen roots.

It beckons,
invites me to listen
for the distant echoes of Creation
and join in.

(E.Rand, August 2009)

* * * * * * *

Recognition

Body in morning
fumbles for coffee and keys -
urban habits in a rural skin -
considers time found,
time lost,
and listens as nature procures
a home-made breakfast.

Body in morning
finds old roads etched into her bones,
old trails whispering their welcome.

Refusing to burn the day with regret,
those bones strike out for home
and find themselves in a world of green,
of galax and mountain laurel -
the faint smell of Christmas.

Water and soul rise,
journey upward in a haze of remembering,
then descend in joyous song
on ancient boulevards
of stone and psalm.


(E.Rand, August 2009)

* * * * * * *

Home Safely

6:30am flight out of Atlanta, GA

good music & closed eyes

heading back to colder, drier climes (which i love)

* * * * * * *

I am sad to have left my east coast friends and family
but I am glad to be home.

Headin' Home.

I really wish I could be 3 places at once. And all there all three places. There are just too many awesome people in this world for me to get enough of them all... like my family and my husbands family, and my dear friends in half-a-dozen states.

But alas. I am not omnipresent. I am one very human Liz.

Which means it's time to go home. Yay! & Boo! at the same time.

I have had an incredible Christmas break this year, and I am glad for the time I had in each place and with each person. Thank you to everyone who has given us a ride, hosted us in their house, fed us, lent us transportation, laughed with us, laughed at us while we laughed at ourselves, and rescued us from a rental-car debacle. Special thanks to Jeromie for putting up with a crick'd neck the first week and a nasty cold the second! That man has patience.

So. We're off...
- Montgomery to see the Dixons
- Atlanta for time with the utterly fantastic Henleys before an
- Early morning flight to CO.

Much love, all.

Yee-haaaaw.

I'm too tired to write out the blog post I was planning for this evening, but I at least wanted to say that much about the trip!! :-)

out and back again

I knew I shouldn't've pressed the buttons of dooooooom.



* * * * * * *

Jeromie and I have just recently returned from a bit of a journey out west. The original plan was to take a trip to Montana with Jeromie's family, but we ended up stopping over in Denver for several days first (for cheaper than a direct flight to Montana would've been!). While in Denver, we made a visit to Denver Seminary, the Denver Art Museum (best DAM museum anywhurs!), and the mountains! We had a fantastic time with our hosts, the Pesces, and are looking forward to the possibility of making our home in Denver, at least for a while.

But I mentioned buttons, didn't I? Of the doom variety? Ah, yes...

Messing with the buttons of doom means:
- rain
- rain
- rain
- more rain
- AVALAAAAAANCHE!

and

- more rain. :-)
- oh yes, and the condo breaking off the face of the planet and floating through space, Sawyer style.

Apparently, some of the areas around Red Lodge (where we stayed) received half of their average annual rainfall during the week we were there. Mmmmm. Slow, soaking rain. Despite the rain, we had an awesome time in Montana.

During this next week, I think I'll try and make a few posts about our time there. One gigantic post just doesn't sit well with me or do the trip justice!

Craaaaaaaazybusy.

I can't believe it's April. Contributing to the disbelief is the fact that no one pranked me on April Fools (phew.), which is a new concept for me. :-D Normally someone pulls at least *one* over on me. April looks like it will be quite a trip though... and May.

Potential Spring Shenanigans
- Cooper River 10k in Charleston (this Saturday!)
- Taxes. Taxes taxes taxes. (by April 15)
- Projects for DCF Film Festival & Gallery (now til then)
- DCF Film Festival & Gallery weekend (April 15?)
- Bookfair numero A (3rd week in April)
- Bookfair numero B (4th week in April)
- DCF Yard Sale & Silent Auction (May 3! Come out!!!)
- Bookfair numero C (in-store May 10 & probably HUGE)
- Sneaky-plan thing that might be unveiled in mid-may...
- Finishing & submitting Mars Hill application; going out for interview (May)
- Registering for classes (?!??!)
- Family trip to Montana (!!!!!)

I feel like I'm coming out of hibernation or something! :-) Hopefully I'll be able to carve out a little more time for sewing & knitting. Both have been neglected these past few weeks. :-\

Even in the face of a busy spring, these past few weeks have been good. Not a crazy woo-hoo(!) good, but good in a God-is-moving-and-i'm-not-being-blind kind of way. As always, He is faithful; He's been digging around in my heart and bringing me to a place where I can see and embrace Him & Life (with all its many facets) instead of retreating or hiding. Most of my life, I've been prone to that... to retreating & hiding.

So in response to Michael's request for a one-word update: WOO-HOO!!!! :-D

And that's because God is faithful.

An Open Book...

I was going to wait until I had some pictures to post, but I think I'll just add them in later...

------------------

Quite a bit's happened in the past month! We went semi-super-north, semi-super-south, and I found a rather enjoyable part-time job!


semi-super-north : MAINE

Toward the end of July, Jeromie and I flew up to Portland, Maine, then the drove to Bridgton (Moose Pond!) for a family reunion - my stepmom's family. It was an *great* trip - fun to be around extended family and a good balance of action/relaxion. I know, I just made up a word. Highlights would have to be: good conversations with family, the loft we got to sleep in, the beautiful view, and the 3rd annual family 5k.

We spent our last day in downtown Portland, wandering around various shops, hunting down yarn stores & thrift shops, and pur-chasing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows from a cool local bookstore (Longfellow Books?).

Tangent: Up until shortly after this trip, I'd only read HPs 1 & 2 and just didn't feel like following the craze through the rest of them; however, once Jeromie got (and in rather short order, finished) the 7th, I got kind of curious and ran off to the library for #3. Since we got back from Maine (July 24th), I've finished the rest of them... including #7 last night. Earlier in July, I rediscovered my love for reading of nearly any sort, which made it pretty easy to get sucked into the Potter books. I like them. More than I remember liking first two!

Back to Portland, though, and Maine in general: I thoroughly enjoyed it. Getting to finally see some of New England has got Jero & me reconsidering Gordon-Conwell for further school endeavors.


semi-super-south : ALABAMA

Orange Beach, to be exact, with Jeromie's family for his mom's 50th birthday! Hanging out with Jeromie's family has always been awesome thus far, and this time was no exception. I just hope they've forgiven me for being a bit of a bookworm! ;-) It was great fun to get to swim and rest and cook and monkey around with everyone.

I've always been kind of neutral about beaches until now. I'd never been to any outside the Carolinas. The water was clearer and the sand was soft, so this time I *really* enjoyed the beach for being itself.


rather enjoyable part-time job : THE OPEN BOOK

Woo-hoo! After nearly a month of being a bit pesky, I got a job at the Open Book! I started last week before we left for Alabama. It's a great, great local independent bookstore with awesome staff. Over the past couple of years, whether out of stress or no-time, I'd kind of forgotten how much I like to read... and thus I read pretty much out of necessity and not much else. When I finished at my previous job and started hunting around for a part-time job, I decided to think outside the box... in other words, places I hadn't considered before or had thought unattainable AND no big-box retail places. Jeromie and I hadn't really bought any new books since moving to Greenville, so I'd nearly forgotten about the Open Book, having not been there since sometime in high school. Having been back lately, I love it! No more big-box bookstores... none none none.

Westward Ho!

Aaaaaaaah... it's like the freedom you feel at the end of the school year... except that I only have 2 1/2 weeks. But I am NOT complaining about that... 2 1/2 weeks is fine with me! I have officially completed 1 year of working in community mental health. *cheers*

And now, I shall fly off to Dallas with de Jeromie!