Monday, February 2, 2009

Chickadees and Heaven...Chickadee Heaven :)

Yes…it has been quite a long while. A long while full of holidays, lack of a working computer, and a plague. The plague (a rather nasty stomach flu) is currently sweeping through our house. So far it has claimed all but four…but the supposed “instigator” just had a relapse tonight, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the entire house succumbs in the end.

Today felt particularly wonderful not only because it almost felt like spring, but it was my first “I feel like a normal person again” day after having been sick. I took a shower to wash away any lingering flu and LEFT THE HOUSE! I sat through my 3rd ever church service by myself—it’s a strange feeling, really. It seems like I should be saying I feel grown up, driving all the way to church and sitting down (and choosing!) a seat like a normal person. But to say that almost implies that in order to feel grown up I should be feeling some measure of loneliness, and I know that isn’t right. So for lack of a better description I’ll just say it was (and maybe always will be…) slightly strange in a maybe-I’m-grown-up kind of way. I met a collie name Casey after church and couldn’t help thinking of Callie…and then couldn’t help thinking of Ella.

Monica and I went for a mini adventure in the afternoon. We drove into Provincetown the intention of doing a Beech trail walk. The pathway became an impassable chute of ice all too soon into our journey, and we turned around. BUT it made me wonder why no one has invented a sport with ice skates and a winding, hilly ice-covered pathway. How fun would that be? :)

Before we left I noticed a bunch of chickadees that we hanging out in a cedar tree area. I realized they were enjoying bird seed that someone had spread on the ground, and Monica and I stood with some in our hands hoping to lure the little guys over to us. It worked! And it made my day :) There is nothing like a chickadee, and especially nothing like a chickadee perched on your finger.

Provincetown is a dog town. Meaning…there are a lot of dogs there. Every other person has a dog. And every other dog is wearing some kind of accessory. I was people/dog watching from a coffee shop window for a while after our chickadee fest. We stopped there for a while to enjoy the downtime just before a local choir concert started. The concert was great! The choir is about 150 or so, and their concert was a tribute to the Beatles. I think my favorite piece was Blackbird by a chamber capella group. So fun. At one point the conductor asked the packed-in audience if anyone had tuned in to watch the Beatles the first time they appeared on TV…and over ¾ of the people raised their hands! For some reason that really surprised me…but I guess I am living amongst a retired (and in P-town also a very hippy/arsty) group. I'm actually going to be joining that choir starting Thursday...I'm pretty excited for it. We're singing a Hadyn piece in the spring. Nothing like "the heaven's are telling the glory of GOD-DA!"

Not all of us in the house were super excited to watch the super bowl (although I did get to use my 3D glasses!) and a few of us set up a makeshift art studio in the back quad. Jessica is a pretty talented artist, and incredibly encouraging when it comes to teaching and making your pathetic picture feel like a masterpiece. It was very relaxing to sit and think about how my pencil and brush were moving across the canvas to make a supposed replica of a picture. And no, it looks nothing like the picture…but it was well worth it. Jess is going to give me a lesson in how to mix colors tomorrow :)

And…best way to end the day…MY Jessica just called! Oh, I wish so much I could be there with her right now. She is pressing a tree fern leaf for me :) me oh my. Too many thoughts.

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