waking up looking down...

not often does the song i hear on the radio send me scrambling to find it once i get home.

but last friday, i got a call from greg, could we pick him up from work? it was pouring outside, already dark out, and he wouldn't get home til after 8pm at this rate, so francis and i hopped in the car, with francis choosing his new privilege: riding shotgun.

there was crazy traffic. moving slow, we hopscotched around on the radio, he didn't want to listen to classic rock, i didn't want to listen to christmas music (already??!!), so when i finally heard the beastie boys, i breathed a sigh of relief and turned it up. LOUD. i looked over at francis and his little shoulders were already groovin' to the beat, and i asked him: do you know this song? he said no. i said -- THIS is the rap music of MY school-days. i think he was a little surprised that he could like something that was so old. it didn't sound old. it sounded, well, awesome.

and then, while we were sitting there stop-n-go in the rain, in the dark, music loud, with the red tail-lights glowing off the windshield, the song morphed into a song HE knew. arcade fire. i said: you know this song? he said yes. everybody knows this song. and then he was really groovin'...

sometimes, randomly, forces come together to make a moment truly memorable. i don't know if he realizes how special it was, but for me, we have -lately- few moments of true togetherness, where i'm not buggin' him, or he's not buggin' me, where we are just chill, enjoying one another's company. to be honest, those moments come more easily and often when we travel, when we can be surprised, and curious, and discover things together. when we are far from the grind of daily life. at home, it's trickier, but sometimes those moments can still slip in.

we've been singing the song for days...

p.s.
after my foray down the rabbit-hole of the world wide web, i was able to find no information on where to buy it, but i've put an inquiry into kexp. the song was a mash-up of beastie boys: looking down the barrel of a gun, and arcade fire: wake up. it was credited as: arcade boys: waking up looking down the barrel. if you play them side by side on youtube, you can almost hear it.

morning has broken...

i had a goal this morning: to get out of the house and go downtown. but then, it started raining cats and dogs. drizzle i can handle. downpours not so much. my rain-boots are broken and they are on my list of "needs". my attempts at fixing them (even my dad tried when he was here!) have been no-good. they are just cute but old rubber rain-boots with orange shoelaces and i can't find anything i like to replace them, so i keep wearing broken ones. ones that let the rain in...

everything seems to be breaking at the same time.

our monitor is broken. it sends greg and i into road-rage every morning trying to boot it up. it's pre-historic. (not the monitor. the feeling. the waiting is so... un-modern.) it flickers off and goes black for about 15 minutes. you just have to turn it off and on until it sticks. i've adapted to trying to complete my business on the computer in 2 second-flicking-intervals. we're holding off on buying a new one because greg has to find a good one for his photography needs. not just any old monitor will do. and so our eyes glaze over with the pressing of the button; i feel like we're in the hatch on LOST. it's now a chore that we sometimes delegate to francis: "go boot up the monitor" and he sits there for ages, pressing the button on and off...

our video-camera is broken. gotta hold in the battery pack while filming.
the kitchen timer is broken. count to sixty in your head.
my face-powder compact is broken. store it in a baggie; it's a mess.
the green couch is unraveling.
the bed is killing our backs.

there are too many needs mixed in with too many wants.
but: these are just things.
there are other things more important...

last night, we were at the seattle art museum for the book launch party of
-YOU WILL NOT COME BACK UNCHANGED-
a book of poetry and prose from seattle area students K-12, thru the writers in the schools program. francis had one of his poems selected for this book, and he was to read it at the event. we were so proud i actually teared up when i first found out. he adamantly did NOT want to read his poem, but we pretty much forced him to. once he got there, though, he started to get nervous/excited. and when the other kids started reading their poems (he was #45 on the list, quite a long wait) he started to get more excited than nervous. he did great and didn't mess up, which was his worry. he even adlibbed a bit, adding a bit about a hummingbird that wasn't even in the text. !? i was pretty impressed with the poems these kids had written; i don't remember being taught poetry at such a young age. and afterwords, they had a book signing, and all the "authors" sat at a long table and signed books for their "fans". francis took this job very seriously and i about melted. he was totally in his element. i went down the line with our copy of the book and got all the signatures for francis to look back on. i remembered faces to go with each poem.

and then:

at the end:

francis said:
so, what do you think? should i just go tell that girl i think she's cute?

greg said:
why not? seize the moment. life is short.

so we watched him march up to the cute-poetry-reading-girl who sat next to him and say "by the way, i think you're cute", nod, and walk away.

he talked about her all night...
--------------------------------

ODE TO BIRDS: (by francis nyssen)

Birds, birds
are the most
colorful animals
green
brown
yellow
red
blue
turquoise
purple
neon blue--
I could go on.
The king of nests
has a fancy for huge
very decorated nests.
It's turquoise
and neon blue. It
sends you in a trance.
A yellow canary goes
black against the sun
on a sunny
day.
A rattle of leaves and sounds tell
you
the toucan hops
from branch to
branch, chirping.
It's beak shining, making
us see a blur of color.
A crow searches
endlessly for its
old feathers
of white.
The mimicker of
sounds mimics
the sound of its falling
forest. The king
of voice shines
its colorful feathers.
Red, blue
yellow, green,
it has a stubby
beak. It makes
you see a sea of
colors. Making
you smell fruit.
Cloves send a scent to me
making me think of birds.
A fresh
drink of chai
reminds me of when
I'm sitting in
the bird dome at
the zoo.
At night I can imagine
a vulture looks despairingly
jealous of all the color.
Starlings are
considered
good luck when
they live in your house.
A bird's color is what
the vulture
wants so badly.
Cardinal's red
makes it
look like a
streaking flame
of light across
the sky,
making fire
burn in your
eyes.

let the rains begin...

i just knew that mentioning the sun would make it go away! (sigh) as soon as i posted, it turned gray and has been raining off and on for days. before i even packed away my summer dresses, i've been pulling out my wool socks. it's official. summer is over! but it's been a good run, i must say, and there are things to look forward to... fall has always been one of my favorite seasons. besides, our neighbor's plum and pear trees are finally ripe, and he's fond of francis and lets us pick. it really does give me a little twinge of the olden days, a rarity in this city life: picking only enough fruit that we can eat for that day. every day we walk inside with a little handful, and enjoy them fresh from the tree. wonderful.



francis and i walked to school today, in the morning gray... i mentioned that this is the last year that we will be walking this walk, for next year he is off to middle-school. (as yet to be determined where.) he is already extremely excited for middle-school, he can hardly contain himself. and then he went on to tell me how he and some friends were "googling in the dictionary" for the definitions of some words, during school, and i said: "hold up! did you just say "googling in the dictionary?" and he looked at me confused, like: yeah, duh! he totally didn't get it. googling, apparently, has jumped the ship of the internet, and become it's very own word. our children are growing up ultra-modern.

the sunday before last, it was scheduled to be sunny and hot. ( the last rays and days of sunshine...) in one of our many efforts to keep our kid a kid as long as possible, we took him to the puyallup fair. it really was just for francis. we haven't taken him there since the first time we took him, when he was 5, if that's saying anything. but i started to feel selfish, because the only reason we haven't gone is because we didn't really like it, or rather, the reality outweighed the nostalgia if you know what i mean. couldn't be bothered to go again. the long drive. the crush of people. the expensive rides. the noise. but this year, something hit me, maybe it's sinking in that we don't have much longer with him, where he actually wants to be with us; we have little of his childhood left.

so in a feeble effort to make up for past years, we bit the bullet, made the trek, and took him to the state fair. and he absolutely loved it! and i must confess, we had a blast too. dana jill came with us, the sun was shining strong, and we took delight in his delight. everything is still magical to him. his eyes and ears were dazzled by a monkey show, a draft-horse competition, a cannonball man, a crazy dangerous juggler, "mutton-bustin'" (our first time ever even hearing of such a thing, let alone seeing it firsthand! go ahead, google it! we were laughing our butts off, only francis was a little sad we haven't come to the fair earlier, when he was younger, so he could have done it too, because now he is too old) and then of course, all the farm animal exhibits, the rides rides rides, lemonade, elephant ears, and the futile games that suck up your money quicker than you can drop it on the ground. (more pics on flickr.) for a kid, a glorious day, you wish it would never end.





and then last sunday, (i know, i know, we're really cramming in these last ditch efforts of summer) we hit the race-tracks. it's end of the season for emerald downs and i've been meaning to go since last summer, but this was our first time ever going. i'm only bummed we didn't do it sooner. this was in the week of gray, but the rains stopped, and the sun came out for the afternoon. as soon as the races were over, i'm not kidding, we didn't even make it to our car yet, where we were hit with a torrential downpour, the likes of which seattle doesn't usually see. (i don't mind THIS kind of rain!)





and of course, back to school again. this month has been so crazy busy, stuff going on almost every single day... i'm already looking forward to october, because nothing's on the calendar, except: my sisters wedding! (we'll be flying to chicago the first weekend, and it's gonna be a blast!) and then...

curling up for the long hibernation...

ready or not...

what can i say? somehow the time has just flown, and francis is done with school in 6 days. crazy! and yes, he is counting down! i think we are ALL ready for a summer that will hopefully dole out some sunshine, because, let me tell ya: it's been scant around here!

we've had weeks and weeks of gray, and rain, and baseball games rained out, and then the make-up games rained out...i don't know if seattle knows that it's actually june, i think it thinks it's still april, and May wasn't much better. (sigh) but one good thing was we didn't feel guilty for all the movies we've been seeing! perfect for rainy days! iron man, prince caspian, indiana jones...all in one month, and summer not even officially here yet! what a summer for the kids! we thoroughly enjoyed these movies along with francis, who was literally on the edge of his seat, every time!

i'm trying to wrap things up before school is over, and that means: all my spring cleaning that i procrastinated on is now a mother-lode chore! i've got post-it notes cluttering up the kitchen, and when i get to take one down and throw it away: success! you'd think that with all these gray days we've been having, that i'd be done by now, but no: when it is gray outside, it does not inspire me to clean. it inspires me to read and drink coffee and be lazy, and so i did manage to finish the lord of the rings trilogy. but when it is sunny, and the apartment is bright, THAT is when i get the gumption(sp?), the energy, and the will to get some things done. strange, i know. most people like to go outside when it is sunny, and i do too. but i also like to clean when it is sunny. so, i finally cleaned our bedroom, where the dust had been forming a nice solid layer (so gross!) and it felt so nice to sit and read in a clean, and tidy room, with the sun shining. francis was in a reading marathon, and could not put down "the Hobbit" until he was done. that's been so nice to see: him getting so into reading a book that he doesn't want to do anything else. he is now halfway done with "the fellowship of the ring" and wants to finish all three books this summer!





francis helped me spray-paint a big iron outdoor coffeetable, that we collected for free off the side of the road. it was rusty, but we cleaned it, and sprayed it down with this rustoleum paint, and now it looks as good as new. when the sun shines in our "back yard", we like to sit back there and eat and drink and read and play... (more pics on flickr)





on memorial day, after a glorious sunny saturday and sunday (it was a 2 day special only) it was back to gray, so i thought going to the zoo would be a nice distraction. i naively thought it wouldn't be crowded; wouldn't everyone be at home, enjoying their families and having BBQ's? nope! everyone was at the zoo, too! not our cup of tea. we like the zoo all to ourselves, so we did not stay too long. too crowded. too loud. even francis commented on it. we must have tainted him with our own preferences, because pretty soon, he wanted to go home, too. but we did get to visit the new creatures at the zoo: the flamingoes. they cracked francis up. you'd think they'd be a nice, quiet, regal bird, as beautiful as they are, in their familiar one-legged stance. but no. we were shocked at how noisy and feisty they are (they honk like geese), fighting constantly for food, and their whole area stank like a cooped-up bird house, even tho it was a brand-new habitat, and outside. startling. but they were still beautiful. i think it must be God's sense of humor to give such a boorish, pushy bird hot-pink feet.



and maybe it's because he's an only child, or maybe it's because he's still really just a kid, francis really wanted a stuffed flamingo. huh? i was suprised because what 10-year old boy wants a pink stuffed animal? but i caved, because first thing that popped into my head was suprise, and then "he's probably not gonna be asking for stuff like this very much longer." so many times he can get under my skin, acting like a pesky wannabe teenager, trying out attitude to see what it does... that when he is acting like a kid: i just want him to be a kid! and do kid things.so i said yes. and of course, he carried that flamingo around all day. (someday: he's going to be really embarrassed by these pictures! haha! but thankfully, not yet...)

bright like yellow

all that cold cold wet day...

those days of sun couldn't last forever, right? well, spring break is wrapping up, with alot of rain. on friday we received some serious rain, downpour rain, and even some hail. what do you do on a truly wet and gray miserable day?

go get coffee and cupcakes with some friends!

we hit trophy cupcakes for the unveiling of the new flavor. (the trophy owner had just been on the martha stewart show apparently, and luckily, we beat the crowd.) now, i'm not a huge cupcake fan. i usually can't eat a whole one by myself, but these were probably the best cupcakes i've ever tasted...delicious, warm out of the oven, and not too sweet if you can believe it. the one i split with francis wasn't enough; i got 3 more to take home with us (and i have to say: tasted just as good a day later.) francis and i caught a ride with jen and her kids, and met up with ann-krestene and stephanie and their kids, and together, we all whiled away some of the afternoon rain.









when greg got home from work at 3:30, we took francis to a matinee: nim's island, which was very enjoyable for him, and very tolerable for us. we then gave him the choice of dinner, and he selected chow mein, but we had some time to kill, so we drove down to golden gardens to look at the rain on the sea.



(at least, we did. francis didn't make it. it's nice to know a ten year old still isn't immune to the occasional nap.)





greg and i killed some time in the rain, taking pictures, until we were freezing and wet thru, and then headed to one of our favorite places, chef liao on phinney ridge, to get francis his chow mein and hot tea!



we then had just enough time to hit our friend vic's art show at the phinney ridge center, right down the street from us. vic did a show last year called "sushi is the bomb", (about nuclear arms, some of you may have seen it at the green bean cafe in greenwood), and this year she has new and just as thought-provoking work, titled: "catallactic converters: exploring value, choice and transformtion through salvaged materials". (dealing with the world-wide issues of slavery and human trafficking.) (photo does no justice, and was taken with permission)



come be challenged! see her pieces currently at the phinney center art gallery, thru april 25th, and then they move to the green bean cafe, for the month of may. artist reception on friday, may 9th, 6-8pm, during the annual greenwood phinney art walk.

i had just taken francis and one of his friends to the art museum the day before, and i have to say, i truly love taking him to see the things that people we know have created. it makes the arts that much more tangible and personal. it shows that it's something he could do, too, if he wanted to...

and it certainly gives us things to talk about...