a seeming void becomes a solid ground

I've been missing all of you and slowly getting into the groove of the newness of life as it is now. There is no earthly way possible to recapture the last few months, so I am not going to attempt to do so. Only to say that I'm slowly adjusting to this thing that is living alone and each day, I feel more sure of myself and the decision that I made, seemingly in a rash moment. It feels like letting go and there have been multiple reasons to do precisely that over the last two months.

But instead of lingering on the last two months and explaining away the night, I want to share a few things with you all, friends. First of all, this is truly a fall night and all one can do is heat up a cup of hot apple cider and curl up with a good book and a blanket. It's wonderful. This time of year is one of my favorites and probably is due to the fact that I should have been born in the fall. I am in awe of the color of the sumac, water that dips and moves with the landing of each goose heading for warmer climes, the brightness of the sun falling through falling leaves and even these gray days when you don't mind lingering with a friend in the coolness. And it occurs to me that in the midst of this economic crisis we are in, perhaps there is nothing better than inviting friends over for a cup of cider and playing cards. Cooking is one of the things that make me sane, so let's cook a big pot of soup and truly enjoy the company of others. This, I believe, is one of life's simple pleasures, take from it what you will.

Other things to share that you can take or leave:

1. Paul Newman, as you know, passed away on Saturday. Sally Field has this to say about him, "Sometimes God makes perfect people and Paul Newman was one of them." If only there were more people we could say that about.

2. Nick Coleman offers this sage advice on the election year and baseball. It will make you smile.

3. I made these roasted brussel sprouts tonight and they were every bit as delicious as the photo shows. And for those of you that don't like brussel sprouts - come on over and I will make a believer out of you.

4. We've assembled 50 of this years rock, paper, scissors, and they are beautiful. I can't believe that the fruits of our labor turned out quite as good as they did. I can't wait to unveil it to the world.

5. And just so that I have an even five, today they were talking about the soundtrack for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon on The Composer's Datebook and it was amazing. It is beautiful, haunting and fits this fallish weather just perfectly, I think.

And to close with a quote, here is one from Erskine Caldwell that was in the Trib today that I couldn't resist.

"Oh, I used to read the Sears and Roebuck catalogue, every year when it came out. But I learned early in life that you can be a reader or a writer. I decided to be a writer." - Erskine Caldwell (1903-87), American author

this is the way I need to wake

More to come, since I think writing to you, friends, helps keep me sane.

But, this quotation begged me to post it.

"A poem is never finished, only abandoned." - Paul Valery