An Eternal Perspective

By Edgar Allan Poe.


Annabel Lee

It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea:
But we loved with a love that was more than love -
I and my Annabel Lee;
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her high-born kinsmen came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in heaven,
Went envying her and me -
Yes! that was the reason (as all men know,
In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud one night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we -
Of many far wiser than we -
And neither the angels in heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling -my darling -my life and my bride,
In the sepulchre there by the sea -
In her tomb by the sounding sea.

Clutter out, Clutter in.

We went to the thrift store today in search of rain boots for Will. I found no rain boots but we did find:

A skirt for me $3.00
A Winnie the Pooh game for Will: $2.00 (after much negotiation away from plastic crap and beanie babies).
A backpack for Will. $1.50
A wooden iron, to replace the toy metal one in the play room. This was a score, its so cute! .50 cents.
Two awesomeist books for me which of course now I can't even remember the titles: .30 cents each.

We also dropped off a couple bags at the donation box.

But I came home with all this stuff but didn't get the boots! Every time I come home with stuff I get *stressed* (that's kind of a strong word really) because I keep trying to keep things simple.

So tomorrow its time to go thru closets again. I am so wanting to simplify. More, more, more every day!

Oh, and to add to the bill for the day: $8.00 in library fines! Ouch! I've probably had $50 in fines in the past year. Kids will do that to ya.

Its 12:51 and I'm trying to decide it its even worth going to bed. Jack will wake... but when? 1 am? or 2 am? Its PAINFUL to fall asleep for 20 minutes and then wake to him wanting to nurse. Yes. That is right. Nightweaning was a fleeting dream. He got sick, then Daddy left for California, then yada, yada, yada....

So... guess I'll crawl in bed for a bit.

But which one? Will peed in the bed so one side is wet. Daddy is in the twin (next to the king) so he doesn't have to sleep in the wet spot. He put Jack to bed tonight.... for some reason in the other bedroom on the totally uncomfortable bed. Crap.

Somebody slap me because this is seriously the biggest issue in my life right now.

The results of your analysis say:

You tend to pursue many different activities simultaneously. When misfortune does happen, it doesn't actually dishearten you all that much.
You are a thoughtful and cautious person. You like to think about your method, seeking to pursue your goal in the most effective way.
You like daydreaming and seeking out adventure.
You have a sunny, cheerful disposition.




What does your drawing say about YOU?

Its been busy here just living day to day. Boys are getting over another bout of sickness - Jack was pukey and diarrhea. Will - flu like symptoms. So its been a lot of laundry and baths here. They are better now though.

We leave tomorrow for Beaver Lake for Marianne's service. It will be a long day - Jack will be with us and Will with Grandpa. They are going to great grandma's to fix her door bell. He should love that. And I cannot believe that this day is actually happening. Its so surreal. I want to understand. Anyway.

Books we are reading and loving:


Homeschooling: A Patchwork of Days (in the lives of homeschooling families)


Man on the Moon
(At first I was a bit unenthused about this book but the boys LOVE it and its grown on me. Its cute. Its funny. Its good to laugh).




Tonight I made a delicious dessert. We are most into pears around here (since we are restricting apples and all berries for now):

Maple Baked Pears and Chocolate

1 can bartlett pears in pear juice (WF has their 365 brand that is good).
Oatmeal (about a cup)
A bit of cream (or milk)
Maple syrup
A handful of chopped choclate chips
Plain yogurt.

Drain pear juice in oatmeal, add pears on top and add a bit of cream over all. Top with maple syrup and bake until warmed. Sprinkle chopped chocolate chips on top (they will melt). Serve in individual dishes. Top with plain yogurt. The kids loved me. : )


I have so much I want to do:

Plan garden! Buy seeds! Start seeds!
Next week, its rhythm time around here. Incorporate our violin "lessons" into EVERY day. And exercise for me.
Clear out this office. I am claiming this room as MINE. I am so excited.
Thin out boys' toys. They have taken over the house.
Finish the ($&%^(*$&^&$ basement, bathroom, and kitchen.
Do a real elimination diet for Will and stick to it.
Read more Enki.
Read my "Body by God" workbook that I have lamely completly ignored.
Finish my UFO knitting projects - actually I can take these in the car tomorrow and do.

Become better at PEACE MANAGEMENT.

Fly free,

Marianne. We love you.
Peace be to you. Peace be to Sam. Peace be to Nathan.

Oh Boy.

The boys are pretending to be pirates and are cooking one of my dear Heavy Baby dolls in the grill. They are even seasoning her. Sigh. So much for all of my idealism of raising pacifist boys. I mean, they can be totally sweet and loving don't get me wrong. But there is the other side, that quite frankly, I never had as a little girl. They seek POWER in a physical way, that is for sure.

I'm working on my Motivation today. We have been hanging out alot, reading tons and listening to books on tape. I'm weaning the boys (again) off TV after a Christmas holiday of too much PIxar. But anyway, its been so pleasant that I have just gone with all the reading. Today I am cleaning.

I made Millet Coconut PUdding today and I thought it was good. The boys were very willing to try it, but quite quickly changed their tune and left their bowls full. So know I have a pot of fattening delicious pudding that only I will eat. Nice.

I have a lot of things I want to do. I've been reading too much and not doing. I want to finish my two first knitting projects - I knitted a little doll for Jack and am done knitting but now have to sew it and make the head. My potholder. I am going to felt it. AFTER those are complete, I am going to go to the yarn shop and buy yarn for a chunky scarf for Mark. My Stitch and Bitch book says it can be knitted up quickly in a few evenings. She doesn't know how long it took me to do a potholder.

I am going to do Yoga today - not Yoga Kids like we had been doing because our VCR broke but a DVD I've had stuffed in the closet for years.

I don't know what is for dinner tonight.

SO:

Clean the upstairs, finish up laundry.
Pull something out of the freezer for dinner
Yoga
Do a little violin "lesson" (which means playing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on the CD, and clapping.
Do a LITTLE reading
Think about sewing up the doll.