Four Seasons Tea Ceremony

I had the wonderful opportunity to attend a Taiwan tea ceremony this weekend in celebration of Taiwanese Heritage Week. We were split up into groups of five where we were served a different tea by certified tea artists of the Taiwan TeaTalk Group. Tommy Tang, his sister Sunny, and their mother are from Chilai Tea Farm in Taiwan where they grow and produce their own tea. Tommy gave a lecture in the morning and then all three performed the tea ceremony in the afternoon. It was a truly lovely experience.

Spring: "Tea Bud in a Cloud"

Summer: Chialai Green Oolong

Fall: Wu Tang (Dark Roasted Oolong)

Winter: Mi Hsian Honey Oolong (this was my favorite)

Losing Matter

The hurt can be tender, too.
Your absence aches like a loose tooth
and my heart is a cavity.

Into the Light

I finally woke up today. The sun was brimming behind my blue bedroom curtains and I felt something change - the whole neighborhood seemed to feel it too. After opening windows all over the house: in the kitchen, in the dining room, on the staircase, in the bedroom, and in the T.V. room, I settled into the sun room with a book and the wonderful warmth. Outside, people were walking to church, playing with their dogs, riding their bikes, singing along to their car radios, and playing ball in the front yard. My favorite was the young boy walking down Russell Ave. with his backpack eating a bright orange lollipop.

Why does a little bit of sun make so much difference? Is it chemical? is it natural? is it coincidental?

This chair and this room and this view. This.

Minnesota Specific

The winter makes me dream about shores and wave lengths and sounds that sum up my heart place.

When the last boat

trails the dark water

the lone loon sings

as if the trees were walls

and the water a set of strings.

Cities I Love, Cities I Miss

Harriman Park: Hampton, IA

Monkey bars, swings, bike rides, slides, running, tag, sunshine.

Berlin Wall: Berlin, Germany

Forgotten, tourist, history, erosion, photos, lonliness.

Skagen, Denmark:
Study tour, frost, yellow paint, sunset, waves, art, bus rides, windows.

Paris, France

Disbelief, anxiety, uncanny, friends, stench, love, luggage, appetite.

Stories to take home

My half price finds on this very very wet and gloomy day:

This is a classic! $1.00

I was very pleased to find this in clearance. A discarded library book, the cover of my copy looks more like a washed out green cloth: $3.00

Picked this up because it looked wonderfully strange. Later, I discovered it is dedicated to Maurice Sendak - even better! $1.00

floor plan

my boundaries have been redefined
by room-specific expectations ---
windows mirror streets and closets
house winter coats and boxes of books
and all the bulky excess of togetherness.

i pull the sheet down from the window
and you are sitting in your favorite chair.