Gone to the Birds

I’ve found a “new” song I like. It’s the theme to the Reebok commercial “Join the Migration.” The singer’s voice is gorgeous, and the song has this alluring, haunting quality. I like it so much I’m almost ready to buy one of their t-shirts. It begins with men looking slowly skyward and includes bird imagery; [...]

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Beads!

Mrs. Ombud’s been busy at The Crucible lately. A little glass, lots of color, a few tools, some focused fire, and you can see her beady handiwork in this photo:
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“Wild Thing, I Think I Love You!”

“But I want to know for sure!
C’mon and — hold me tight.
You mooove me.”
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Of Left and Write

Yesterday I began a reply to Bloglily on how I plan my writing projects — to the extent what happens is actually planned. Here’s the rest of my answer.
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Planning? What planning?

My deficiencies in planning are revealed. My coworker Bloglily, she of the bright wit, well-turned phrase and sharp mind, had asked a number of us how we plan our writing projects.
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The Sleighing of Christmas, Continued

How many people still eat a Christmas goose? A figgy pudding? I’m not even sure what a sugar plum fairy is, outside of little ballerinas in the Nutcracker. Are real plums involved?
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So, Was It Worth the Trip?

I’ve mentioned my wife’s talent with stained glass before, and you can see more of it here.
When she first mentioned taking a beadmaking class it was in the context of learning how to make buttons, so I didn’t quite grok it. It was part of a design element for her lamps, and the [...]

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Lost and Found in Portland

My grandfather was very afraid of getting lost while driving. He would not drive down to Minneapolis, later in his life, for fear of getting lost. It was because of him that I taught myself not to stress about these things. I am on vacation. Mrs. Ombud is in her beadmaking class (pictures to come). [...]

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Strangers in a Familiar Foreign Land

We watched a very engaging movie last night about four North Africans who volunteer to fight for the French. Part and parcel of the story is that these men are fighting for a nation that has colonized their own countries. As soldiers in Europe they find themselves in wonderfully ambiguous places, confronting scenes and situations [...]

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Surprises, surprises

I keep meaning to get back to surprises, and derailing myself. Well this is it.
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