Author: Maria Johnson

Day 05

Day 05 – A picture of your favorite memory.

Well. Now that’s a tough call. How to capture a picture of my favorite memory…there are many, of course. I played a video of my life in my head while thinking about it, and for a brief moment thought the best picture would be the cheesy grin on my face while I settled into my favorite chair and thought about it.

I have many wonderful memories from my childhood from running around the neighborhood playing hide and seek, to riding bikes to the pool, to carefree summer nights sitting on car hoods and looking at the stars. Family outings and picnics and special events with my family are the foundation of who I am.  All of those merit a place in my hall of fame of memories.

Of course, the second half of my life (and more if I really do the math) has been filled with warm family memories…my husband, our kids, the nieces and nephews and godchildren and all their amazing and wonderful milestones deserve their place as my favorite memory, too.

So, too, the friends I’ve had over the years. Those who have been near me forever, and those who come in and out for a season, but still leave their mark.

Choosing one, then, has been a difficult process, but I did it. It’s a picture of roses. When we were first married and living in Germany, away from family and friends and everything that we knew, John was in the habit of going to the train station to pick up the newspaper very early on Sunday mornings. I’d make coffee while he was gone, and more often than not, he’d show up with the paper, some pastries, and flowers for me.

Those were care-free times. They were pure as the snow in the picture, and lovely and romantic like the swans. Oh, we thought we were struggling…we didn’t have very much money or a fancy house, and his car was held together with bondo and spit, but we were happy in the simple things that filled our days. We had each other, and that was enough.

click to make bigger

Day 04

Day 04 – A picture of your night.

Oh. It said night, not knight.

Well, so there’s my night. Once again, a highly interpretive little thing, “a picture of your night.” I tend to like to sleep at night. Thus, a picture of the inside of my eyelids. But you know, part of sleeping is dreaming, so I thought I’d share something else. I dream in color. Not always, but when I do it’s pretty cool. And it looks like the ceiling of the Opéra Garnier in Paris. Without the goats.

I really love the colors that Chagall uses, only, the floating goats are a little too much. In all fairness, though, this is actually my favorite Chagall painting:

It’s called Self-Portrait with Muse and I fell in love with it when I first saw it almost 30 years ago. In fact, I had been rather tepid about the Chagall museum until I saw this painting up close and contemplated the origins of inspiration. I explain it a little here, and am reminded of another painting, too. Many years later I  would go full circle and encounter a very different painting, this one by Rembrandt, St. Matthew and the Angel, and I suppose, with my refined (read that older and mature) sensibilities, found it moving, more so than when I first saw the Chagall. I was drawn to this Rembrandt painting at a traveling Louvre exhibit in Atlanta, and circled back to it several times, drawn to the Angel.

Years passed between the time I saw the Rembrandt painting and I thought about writing again. Something remarkable happened and I started making a connection between my own writing and the Divine source of that inspiration. It wasn’t a cascade or domino effect, but a gradual awakening, guided a little by a mortal muse, but a muse nonetheless.

By the way, the real picture of my night, in case you missed it, is a little trip into my head…

 

Day 03

Day 03 – A picture of the cast from your favorite show.

I loved this show — it’s a shame it got cancelled. 😦

Any other Browncoats out there?

Day 02

Day 02 – A picture of you and the person you have been close with for awhile.

What? Define “for a while.” Is that 32 years? Like with my hubby?

Does it mean bestie? Yes? We’ll go with that, at about 12 years.

Day 01

Day 01 – A picture of yourself with fifteen facts.

1. I like yellow roses (and any other little yellow flowers, even dandelions).

2. I am a NAUI certified diver.

3. I’m the oldest child and oldest cousin, but most of my friends tend to be older than me.

4. My favorite part of going to the beach is digging my feet in the sand at the water’s edge.

5. I write poetry on scraps of paper.

6. I am super near-sighted.

7. I once shot 100 free throws in a row. All. Net.

8. I like to dance.

9. I like loud music.

10. Sometimes, when I’m cleaning, I listen to loud music AND dance.

11. If I start reading a book and I don’t like it, I feel compelled to finish it.

12. Unlike books, I can totally walk away from a movie, even in the middle of the climax or resolution.

13. Red wine gives me headaches. Mostly cabs. I’ve taken to drinking tempranillos and chardonnay.

14. I would go into space if NASA took middle-aged, out of shape, curiosity-seeking neurotic women.

15. I am undone by spontaneous acts of affection.

yet another meme?

Sheesh. You’d think I could come up with my own clever bloggy things. Only…I kinda thought this was interesting…it’s the 30 Day challenge. Let’s hope I don’t run out of steam before I start it tomorrow 🙂

Day 01 – A picture of yourself with fifteen facts.
Day 02 – A picture of you and the person you have been close with for awhile.
Day 03 – A picture of the cast from your favorite show.
Day 04 – A picture of your night.
Day 05 – A picture of your favorite memory.
Day 06 – A picture of a person you’d love to trade places with for a day.
Day 07 – A picture of your most treasured item.
Day 08 – A picture that makes you laugh.
Day 09 – A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most.
Day 10 – A picture of the person you do the silliest things with.
Day 11 – A picture of something you hate.
Day 12 – A picture of something you love.
Day 13 – A picture of your favorite band or artist.
Day 14 – A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without.
Day 15 – A picture of something you want to do before you die.
Day 16 – A picture of someone who inspires you.
Day 17 – A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently.
Day 18 – A picture of your biggest insecurity.
Day 19 – A picture of you when you were little.
Day 20 – A picture of somewhere you’d love to travel.
Day 21 – A picture of something you wish you could forget.
Day 22 – A picture of something you wish you were better at.
Day 23 – A picture of your favorite book.
Day 24 – A picture of something you wish you could change.
Day 25 – A picture of your day.
Day 26 – A picture of something that means a lot to you.
Day 27 – A picture of yourself and a family member.
Day 28 – A picture of something you’re afraid of.
Day 29 – A picture that can always make you smile.
Day 30 – A picture of someone you miss.

happy St. Valentine’s Day

Let’s pretend I put a kitschy valentine in your shoebox mailbox, and you did the same for me.  And then, I’ll say a little prayer for you, and maybe you’ll do the same for me. 🙂

Ink ‘n Doodles lives…

A bunch of years ago (wow, not yesterday?) my friend Rob Suarez started a creative workshop called Ink ‘n Doodles, a fun place for people to go play. We found not just a place to hang out and share our stuff, but a place to push ourselves a little — maybe take some risks, all in an environment of acceptance and support, and always with the exhortation to “go create something!”

We did!

Rob wrote a couple of novels, notably Murder by Design which is also a podcast. Chuch wrote an epic series, The Secret Society of Seven Sorcerers which is also an amazing podcast (check out Interview with a Wizard, too!).  Wency launched into blogging and no doubt, even more creativity in the classroom, and faced a different kind of challenge: he’s running marathons! What a beast!

What about little ole me? Oh, I’ve been writing here and there.

And today, I am a guest at my friend Pat Gohn‘s column, A Word in Season over at the great website, Patheos.com.

Holy smokes! I mean, Viva Guadalupe!

Here’s an excerpt…go leave Pat a nice comment so she invites me back to her playground 🙂

I have fallen in love with a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe. “She” stands just to the right of the altar in our parish chapel, solitary and without the bright sunburst that we associate with Guadalupe. Posed with hands in prayer, wearing a sweet look that matches the serene, simple, and muted colors of her robes, her stillness and the simplicity inherent in her design soothes me. I find peace when I am before her.

read the rest here.

anti-social must be my temperament

I am at the oral surgeon — Christy is having her wisdom teeth removed. Why didn’t the dentist just pull ’em out? Yeah, well, this isn’t about that adventure; it’s about the waiting room.

There are 12 seats here. I know because I counted them. Twice. For emphasis.

I am annoyed because there is all this space everywhere and no one here except me, and the woman who has chosen to sit right beside me. Yes. She is sucking up the air in my personal space bubble. And it is choking me. That’s a heckuva statement to make coming from a person that generally doesn’t have personal space issues. [full disclosure: If I like you, then I don’t have personal space issues. If I don’t like you, sharing an armrest when it isn’t necessary is not going to endear you to me].

ANYWAY, I am annoyed. Did I say that already? It bears repetition. I am annoyed.

And then I had a moment of surprising charity and thought maybe she was there alone. So I smiled at her.

She stared me down and went back to her 2009 Good Housekeeping.

Really?