sunset

sunset is possibly my favorite time of day. i've taken to walking to a nearby beach to see it. with a sense of completion, the earth quiets. houses, flowers, objects seem to glow with the memory of the light they've absorbed... and as the sun begins to leave the earth to rest, it casts a deep and final blessing.











almost there...





and seeing the sun set reminds me of the promise that it will rise again tomorrow.

summer sanctification

though i haven't posted all summer, i have been collecting thoughts! so here's an amalgamation of them. i normally like to connect my ideas with a theme, but i expect that the only common factor here will be the presence of summer.

turns out i haven't been back to hear the drums again. but i've had plenty of culture. seattle is vibrant in the summer, and i have been eating it up. days with long daylight, markets bursting with flowers and berries, and warm weather in which to enjoy it all. i went camping with doug, laura wade, and the boys 2 weeks ago. my first time ever-- shocking, i know. camping is the thing to do out here. in fact, i know very few people who haven't been camping this summer, at least once. i've always loved sleeping with my window open... sleeping in a tent in the woods is even better. and waking early isn't painful when you're in the presence of nature and people you love. i can't wait to go again.

i came down with a cold that same weekend. apparently i caught it from noah. after 2 days it seemed the symptoms were lessening, and so i figured i was nearly rid of it. though my sinuses were still not clear, i resolved to fight it with sleep and vitamin C rather than buying medicine. i pride myself on spending as little money as possible, and on doing things the 'healthy' way. whatever that means. only problem is, i didn't get much sleep the following week, and the residual stuffiness showed no signs of clearing. still i wasn't phased. until i realized that i couldn't taste anything! i spent a couple of days stubbornly maintaining normalcy, cooking and putting things into my mouth that i knew i loved, trying to enjoy them... and nothing. this was intolerable. not only was there something wrong with my nose, but eating was a waste. and i can't stand wasting food. especially good food. so i caved and bought musinex nasal spray (on sale! ha!). it's a miracle drug. my sinuses cleared in minutes. sometimes i wonder why i fight so hard against treatment.

really i think i distrust the goodness of the product that is meant to heal me. i don't like paritcipating in consumerism... which i realize is inevitable. but when i'm buying something so clearly formulated and marketed for a particular effect, i resist. who really knows what's in the stuff??

similarly, i've recently become aware of the presence of corn syrup in virtually every product in america. "high fructose" corn syrup, at that. i'm afraid to find out what these words actually mean. but i have discovered it in the ingredients list of some things i have eaten unquestioningly my whole life, including marshmallows and syrup. turns out the syrup that i pined away for while i was living in ireland doesn't contain any maple whatsoever. here i was, calling it "real" maple syrup. i knew that there was stuff that was "pure" maple syrup... i just figued that it was a higher quality, more concentrated form or something. so today i bought grade A maple syrup at Trader Joe's. sanctification comes in many forms! oooh! a theme :)