Loose Leaf Notes

1. Lately I’ve been bursting out in song, singing the Beatles line ‘when I’m 64.” And now I really am. 

2. My friend Alwyn is two decades older than me. Back in the day, she would never tell me or anyone her age.  I only knew she was over 60 one day when I saw her get the senior discount at EATS health food store.  But as soon as she hit 80, she couldn’t stop bragging about it and told everyone who would listen how old she was! 

3. Twenty years later, the first time I got a senior discount it was at EATS and Alwyn was with me.

4. My 3 year old grandson Liam to me: “Member, don’t look at Bryce. Only look at me.”

5. I was a big hit with Bryce and Liam when I brought Italian flat beans from the garden for lunch last week.  I told Bryce that he’s loved them since he was a baby.  He couldn’t remember so we watched THIS video of him eating his first ever garden bean.

6. At a mountaintop wedding that I went to on Sunday, I met THIS  New York based artist.  When I asked what art medium she works in, she mentioned collage and told me she cuts-out out and mixes letters and words of sacred text.  I looked her up when I got home and was blown away. Some of the pieces looked like crop circles on paper.  Here’s an excerpt from her artist statement: I deconstruct a sacred text by cutting its individual letters, and reassemble them to form a passage from another holy book. The Koran is transformed into the Bible, the Bible into the Bhagavad Gita, and so on. I discourage a literal reading of the text by eliminating punctuation and spacing; a sentence from one text merges with a passage from another. By bringing together the sacred writings of diverse religions, I undermine their authority and speak to the common thread that weaves through all scripture. The labor-intensive aspect of my work is a meditation practice as well as an exploration of the various forms of devotion.

7. Her husband, who used to live in Floyd, does sculpture and interactive art installments. I really got a kick out of THIS one.

8. A friend at the wedding told me she has a friend in the Netherlands who follows my blog.  If this is you: Hello.

9. He loves me, he loves me not/ is the question we weigh as we string / She loves me, she loves me not / is the chain of days ever long enough? / The childhood ones are as faded / as we know the last ones will be / And all are fragile for better or worse / All are worthy of cherishing – Read the rest of Daisy Chain HERE.

10. Today’s title Please Don’t Eat the Daisies comes from a 1960 movie that I still remember seeing at the Hingham Loring Hall Theater that starred Doris Day, who was like the Meg Ryan meets Grace Kelly actress of her time.

11. Joe loves watching the World Cup the way I love watching the Academy Awards, and he doesn’t care about awards shows like I don’t care about sports.

12. We were windswept on a mountain hilltop that we all agreed looked like Ireland. There was a quote by Donovan, a handfasting and Sufi dancing.   The wedding benches were handmade by the groom and given as gifts to the musicians whose heartfelt playing and singing brought tears to my eyes.  The grapevine arbors and archways looked enchanting against the blue sky.  The chickens and gardens made me smile.  – More from I Call This a Double Date HERE.

13. I don’t eat the daisies, but I have eaten violets, purple crown vetch and nasturtiums.

__________Thirteen Thursday