reflections on life and death

The sunrise in the east reflects in the west this morning. Briefly the pink hues show in the gray clouds out my western faced window. I stop writing to admire the one cotton candy pink cloud and take a picture of it. To the east a brilliant sunrise in turgid bright pink.

Death has come to Fifth street and Roslyn this past week. The neighbor behind me vocal for so many years has passed away. Leaving the backyard quiet. Karyn fed the crows, they have moved on to the trees in front of my house. High in the pines they caw. No longer do I hear the scritch scratch of the claws on my metal roof.

Her obituary reads like this.

"Karyn Ware entered into the next realm of her existence on October 3, 2015. Born in Everett on August 26, 1937 she claims a varied and interesting time on this earth. She often stated "I've done everything in this life I've ever wanted to do and more than a few things that I probably shouldn't have done, and I embrace the next phase of my existence."

So full of life like she was. The things that were not said was that she researched the cemeteries and provided the City of Roslyn with a resource of its history. She loved her dog. She loved feeding the crows. She took a photo every single day of my renovation project while I worked so that I had a beautiful essay of the changes.

At her request there will be no services. However in keeping the wonderful words of a friend recently passed, she wished only that her friends do a kindness for someone else as well as for the animal critters who look to us humans for care.

Wildlife

A single black crow caws in the morning sun. He sits high on a wire overlooking the yellow leaves of an apple tree. Rusted pine needles poke from the branches of its tree. Two fawns play on the hillside across the street from my house. Butting heads and dancing precariously above an abandoned foundation. The white fur on their rumps flashes in the lingering fog.

The lone crow is out of sync with nature this week. The deer, skunks and raccoon's have all been paired up wandering fifth street. Paired I say because I watched the raccoon in the street as he kept a watchful eye on me. He used my yard to cut through and he stares hard, watchful and protective while his wife sneaks past and joins him on the street. They kiss and cuddle, wander off. Another evening two skunks cavorted together underneath a truck.

Those pesky bugs of fall get stuck in my hair and I have been swatting flies like a mad woman. Nick made a new compost bin for the garden. All the creatures love the bin. They stir and bury the treasures benefiting us both. We have been cleaning the yard preparing for winter. I'm weary of work and some Indian holiday bringing tons of overtime. I keep saying, "I won't regret the paycheck."

This time of the year is my favorite because I get to wear warm cozy clothes, socks and boots. Hunker down on early long nights with soup, bread and a movie. And football. Yes fall brings football and more wildlife.

Go Hawks!

Slivovitch

Festering fruit permeates the air. The sweet stench of rot wafts through streets and narrow unpaved alleys in my small mountain town. Juicy purple plums not chosen have dropped to the ground. They stick to the bottom of my shoes as I walk up the alley. They are slick too, like my neighbors grandson snot covered upper lip. I catch myself with a jolt as I skid on the skins and my lower back twinges like it was zapped with a minor volt of electricity as my shoe slides across the flesh. The juices ooze and hornets feast.

The local Croatians from the old mining families make Slivovitch. I watch from my porch as another car stops on fifth street. Just past the old Mayor's house. A woman holding a white plastic bag gets out of the car and starts picking plums from the copse of plum trees on the empty lot between the Mayors and Popavich's house. Popavich is outside in his yard behind her in his mustard running shorts, tanned, lean and healthy these days. He pulls weeds instead of smoking crack now.  

I have tasted the plum essence in the dark amber shadows of the Sodylicious. A slow sip out of a glass tumbler as my breasts rest against the wood trim of the counter. I think I liked it, but can't quite place the taste now. The basement bar and restaurant upstairs have been closed and for sale for years. Joseph Ojurovich owner of the bar is now deceased. I wonder if his son Stephen makes the Silvovitch from a secret family recipe.

Secret family recipe. Reminds me of the great scene in Black Mass. James Bulger begs the secret to the steaks from the FBI agent. I cannot do the scene justice by explaining it here. Go see the movie. Johnny Depp is mesmerizing as James "Whitey" Bulger.

Danish Design

The interior paint of my house has always been rich color.
Wheat in the living room, sugar cookie in the hall and my bedroom with butter yellow and crimson. The office and bathroom in blues. Trim is natural wood. I have floor to ceiling wood bookshelves in dark brown.

Last summer I changed the living room color to more of an arctic ice blue. The floor to a deep cranberry. Set against the colors in the rest of the house... I felt like I was in an Easter Egg. You remember the sugar eggs, opened at the end and inside was a frosting created scene. I felt like I was stuck in one of those. The rest of the house badly needs to be painted. The colors I listed above were the original colors from 2005.

"After returning from Denmark I decided, I want a Danish Design color scheme". My sister sits on my couch and glances around my living room. Vibrant in color.

"Are you going to paint the trim?"

Speechless I look at all my natural wood, unpainted trim. In order to go Danish light and airy, I would have to paint all my trim. And doors. Fuck. What a project.

I started two weeks ago, with my bedroom and wow. What a difference. I choose thin ice for the walls and a delicate white for the trim. The thin ice can look gray, lavender or blue in the light. It brings out the accent colors from my bed coverings that were hidden before. I'm also going through clutter.

But as I enter my living room which is in stages of trim conversion. Now I need to paint the floor again and change the curtains. I want to get a new shower curtain in the bathroom, new rugs. This is getting expensive. But man its beautiful to look at and so calming.

Mountbatten Castle

Ben Bulbin is hidden by fairy smoke, it writhes and flows from over the tops of their cauldrons. Mountbatten Castle stares into the dense gray vapors, brooding. The green velvet fields flow behind the castle like a cloak.

I'm working on yet another edit. This morning it's Tears of God and it starts near this Castle. I love this photo and the magic in it.

I slept good when I was sleeping. When I was awake I was kept up by resentful, betrayed thoughts. Betrayed is a good description of what I'm feeling today about my employer Amazon. Five years and our love affair is over. I applied last night at the juicy apple.

A good morning to write about treachery, assassination and revenge. Don't you think?

Immersion

Lazy. I dwell in the comfort of warm sheets and my bedroom. Sleeping, reading and now writing. The lamp next to my bed is my only light. The heavy green curtains are drawn against a dismal August Saturday morning.

Rain. Long in coming has arrived but it is barren. A false sense of moisture. Because it is.

I'm reading 'Olive Kitteridge.' Dark and yet humorous and frightening in the way of it's truth. The truth of life, marriage and old age. What do you do? You live and find the happy humorous moments and try to forget how dark the world really is.

I'm struggling with indecision, restlessness and being true to myself. Really? I'm lazy and can't find desire to make things happen or change. I don't really care either. The best course of action.... stay warm, make a cup of tea and crawl back into bed with a book, laptop and some chocolate. 

Vacation

I just returned from abroad. You know that ripple affect? The one when a word, picture or situation keeps popping up again and again. I had that happen with this trip.

Denmark... Othello...

I traveled to Denmark to visit my old friend Anette. She was the 1985-1986 exchange student from Denmark at Othello High School. We hit it off when we were 17 and I have always wanted to go see her. I had or made the chance, happen this year. 

While I was there posting pictures on Facebook, the best man at my one and only wedding posted. He also attended Othello High School. He mentioned that he was going to be in Denmark too. Alas we were not able to meet since he arrived after I departed the same day.

Another friend on Facebook and from Othello High School was I'm pretty sure the person interviewed in PNW magazine that comes as an insert in the Seattle Times. I wanted to ask but didn't since she was on vacation in Spain. But as I checked Facebook while in Denmark she posted a picture of a house that looked Danish. So I commented. I figured it was a house built in Danish style maybe influenced by Danish settlement. No. She was actually now in Denmark.

Small world big ripple.
Here are some of my favorite photo's from the trip.