7/31/2008

July 31, 2008-

"I'm sipping my very first glass of beer; a deliciously smooth beer mized with a carbonated German drink similar to sprite. I'm finding a sense of grown-up-ness from being legally allowed to sip my own glass.

If you look out the southern window right now, you can see the looming Austrian Alps in the distance. Rising from the foresty horizon, and broken only by a few white-washed houses, the blue-hued mountains seem very powerful and majestic. In the winter, they'll be covered in powdery snow...but right now they're a lush green in the morning and a mysterious blue at twilight. Breathtaking, really.

We at dinner outside tonight, and what is probably a very normal event becamse very special to me. We sat at one long table with a colorful provincial tablecloth and triangular white plates. The little boys chatted away in German and English, and though they couldn't understand a single word the others uttered, they talked like old friends. We sat beside a clean white wall with blooming pink and red geraniums over head. Grassy, green meadows spread out behind us like a giant velvet blanket that rippled in the evening breeze. The food was a painter's palette of color as well:

brown bread

green, yeallow and red squash baked with white garlic cheese

light green shreaded cucumbers

dark green salad with chopped red tomatoes

soft, local, yellow cheese

black charcoal on the BBQed chicken and pork
and then, of course, my golden glass of beer.

I felt like a queen surrounded by the array of colors."

--

Today Sacramento was shrouded in coldness and the grey shadows of rain. It was quiet outside, though the chilly wind roughly tussled the few remaining leaves clinging to the naked trees. The tea shop was a whirlwind of frustration and hectic-ness, and I felt a bit like one of those leaves...desperatly clinging to my sanity amidst complaints, unsatisfied customers, and new responsibilities. I came home to a blazing fire offering instant "comfort and joy", and a loving family offering a much more satisfying balm - add some Papa Murphey's cookie dough to the mix and you've got one very happy gal.

I'm now adding the final touches to my OO; finishing the last bits of research, scrutinizing each word and listening to myself read it aloud. It's 10:25 minutes long....must.cut.some.more! Cyrano and Roxane are amazing. Debate is exciting once again - and I'm looking forward to the long hours of research. It never ends, but that's part of the wonderful addictiveness.

--

I'm fondly remembering the colors of Germany, and yes, wishing I could bask in those colors once again. But if I look around me, squint a little at the dazzling Christmas lights gracing rooftops and evergreen trees, I am reminded that color and light abounds in a variety of places. Carpe Diem. Seize the day and find the light....even when the day is dark and cold.