EVER SEARCHING FOR LIGHT

When I and the hubby married each other last century, I was working in finance and neither of us had a clue that I someday would chuck the suit and become a poet. I always knew that the transition was tough on him (though he's been nothing but supportive). But I don't think I realized how tough it is to live with a writer until Mom discovered HER-LITERARY-SELF at age 80 and began writing a book. She has been narcissistic as all hell when it comes to demanding support for her writings (grin).

Usually, her demands are in the form of technical support as she can't figure out margins on Word. May not sound like a big thing to you but, heck, I can't figure out margins on Word! And I'm too embarrassed to keep emailing Michelle with dumb questions like, "So, how do you adjust margins on Word?"

Well, Mom finished her book this weekend. HUZZAH!!!! And she'll be taking off for the Philippines this coming weekend. HUZZAH AGAIN!!!!! Heh.

Well, except there's still one more week of hell for Moi to pay: I'll be spending this coming week editing and going over Mom's book manuscript. Have I mentioned yet that the hubby has witnessed these developments with much relish and HUZZAHs!!!? He's long felt it apt that I go through what he, uh, has gone through...

Anyway, until Mom's book comes out, here's my latest Recently Relished W(h)ine List:

SPRING/SUMMER HARVEST:
1 stalk of "miner's weed"
110 stalks of green onion
97 strawberries
2 artichokes
2 cherries
11 zucchini
4 stalks of scallions
12 summer squash
8 cucumbers
275 tomatoes
1 fig
9 bell peppers
25 clumps of basil
3 cucumbers
9 squash blossoms
40 chives
3 red jalapenos
5 green jalapenos


PUBLICATIONS
BOUGH BREAKS, poems by Tamiko Beyer (in manuscript--a moving collection, so moving that it became Meritage Press' latest accepted poetry manuscript. Await word of this publication by a talented poet!)

THE CHAINED HAY(NA)KU PROJECT, collaborative poem anthology curated by Ivy Alvarez, John Bloomberg-Rissman, Ernesto Priego and Eileen Tabios (Very SPECIAL RELEASE OFFER with generously-discounted pricing soon to come!)

MOVING PICTURES, poems by Greg Fuchs (marvelous energy!)

POISON OAK, poetry by Jukka-Pekka Kervinen (deceptively musical with the amusing help of scratch-throughs)

SELECTED POEMS OF OCTAVIO PAZ, Translated by Muriel Rukeyser

TOXIC FLORA, poems by Kimiko Hahn

DUTIES OF AN ENGLISH FOREIGN SECRETARY, poems by Macgregor Card (deft. interesting)

RADHA SAYS: LAST POEMS by Reetika Vazirani (the all of it -- poems and biography which is impossible to separate from this project -- is just plain sad)

SPRING HAS COME: SPANISH LYRICAL POETRY FROM THE SONGBOOKS OF THE RENAISSANCE (Espanol & Ingles) by Alvaro Cardona-Hine (interestingly educational)

GOTHENBURG FROM THE THREE GEOGRAPHIES: A MILKMAID'S GRIMOIRE, poems by Arielle Guy

THE BOOK OF WHISPERING IN THE PROJECTION BOOTH, poems by Joshua Marie Wilkinson

IGNOBLE TRUTHS, poems by Gail White

THE GODDESS OF GOODBYE, poems by James R. Whitley

SUM OF EVERY LOST SHIP, poems by Allison Titus

THE JOURNEY, poems by David H. Rosenthal

ABSOLUTE ELSEWHERE, poems by James Davies and photography by Simon Taylor (very interesting and nifty concept of poems and visuals responding to the same clues "blind" from each other)

POETS ON TEACHING: A SOURCEBOOK, Ed. Joshua Marie Wilkinson

FINDING FRIDA KAHLO: DIARIES, LETTERS, RECIPES, NOTES, SKETCHES, STUFFED BIRDS AND OTHER NEWLY DISCOVERED KEEPSAKES by Barbara Levine with Stephen Jaycox

LETTERS TO A YOUNG ARTIST, advice/memoir by Anna Deavere Smith

A THOUSAND SISTERS: MY JOURNEY INTO THE WORST PLACE ON EARTH TO BE A WOMAN, memoir by Lisa J. Shannon

IN A HEARTBEAT: SHARING THE POWER OF CHEERFUL GIVING, memoir by Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy (with Sally Jenkins) (just fabulous! among many hilarious stories is how Leigh Anne ranted at the Oscars' red carpet)

THE DOGS I HAVE MET AND THE PEOPLE THEY FOUND, memoir by Ken Foster

RAIN, O'ER ME, fiction booklet by Rachael Goetzke

KEEPER AND KID, novel by Edward Hardy

THE BOOK OF SPIES, novel by Gayle Lynds

U IS FOR UNDERTOW, novel by Sue Grafton

WATERSIDE HOMES, interior decoration by Marcie Stuckin and Susan Abramson

DESIGNING FOR SMALL HOMES, interior decoration by Dylan Landis

SMALL SPACE LIVING by Norman Smith (no. I don't have a project ongoing. this is just vicarious reading...)


WINES
2007 Alpha OImega
Tra Vigne house red
1999 Trevor Jones Wild Witch Barossa Valley
2009 Dutch Henry sauvignon blanc Chafen Family Vineyards
2004 Trevor Jones Barossa Valley
2001 Clerico Ginestra

*****

So, what else has Moi recently relished? This, a shot of the solar field under expansion:



To soften the hard edges of those panels, here's part of the solar field garden (I seem to do better with flowers than vegetables -- an implicit poetics by itself to you discerning ones):