In a Pretty Pickle ~

Most of the walls in my house follow a neutral palette: Urban Putty, Bungalow Beige, and Medici Ivory to name a few. When you walk into these rooms, the furniture, the accessories, and the art work are what catch your eye rather than the wall color.

My kitchen is another story. Walk into there and your eyes are greeted by walls that are painted Dill Pickle. Yep, that’s right. Dill. Pickle. 

The color is fun but sophisticated, whimsical but not childish. It’s a color for all seasons. It’s a fresh, crisp green with a touch of yellow, giving a nod to spring and summer. It gives a splash of zing as the autumn reds and golds turn to brown and it keeps that sunshiny feeling as the days shorten and the winter landscape turns gray. It’s a year ‘round happy color.

I spend the majority of my time in my kitchen. It’s the heart of my home where lots of meals and lots of memories have been made. 

And it’s the one place where I love being in a pickle.

My two brown boys...supervisors, floor cleaners, companions ~

The Ides of March

“Beware the Ides of March.” This is one of the very few lines I remember from Dr. Miller’s Shakespeare class I took as a junior in college. I vividly remember signing up for this class. Shakespeare was offered for spring quarter. The goal of many college students was to get the ABC class schedule: 8:00, 9:30, and 11:00, so we would finish at 12:30 and be out tanning by 1:00. Shakespeare was not a class I wanted to take, but as an English major it filled a graduation requirement and as one who wanted to work on her tan, a sun schedule requirement.

“Beware the Ides of March.” A date that lives in infamy for Julius Caesar. A soothsayer gave Caesar and early warning of his impending death with these words. Later on in the play, there was a big storm (definitely a foreshadowing element). To find out what it meant, Caesar had priests sacrifice animals and then read the omens in their entrails. The message: DON”T GO OUT. And in typical horror movie fashion 415 years ago, Caesar ignores the warnings, goes out (idiot), and gets stabbed to death on the steps of the capitol.

“Beware the Ides of March.” From the Shakespeare’s play, these five words have a doom-filled reputation, but every month has its Ides. Ides is derived from an old Latin verb, iduare, which meant to divide. It was the Roman term for the day that came in the middle of each month. 

The Ides of March...an American rock band that played the hit 70s song, “Vehicle.” Every trumpet player in the 70s could play along with this song, every teenager would blast this song, and to this day many boomers still crank it up. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxJFjO4Skgo

And the lyrics...what kid in the 70s didn’t sing them at the top of his or her lungs...

I'm your vehicle baby

I'll take you anywhere you want to go

I'm your vehicle woman

By now I'm sure you know

That I love you (love you)

Need you (need you)

I want to got to have you child 

Great god in heaven you know I love you.

So as a teenager in the 70s, “Vehicle” or “Julius Caesar,” I know which Ides of March was my favorite. Apologies to Dr. Miller ~ 

Ash Wednesday 2014

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, the day that many people give something up for six weeks. The idea of giving something up is very similar to making New Year's resolutions, something like quitting smoking or giving up chocolate or alcohol. These Lenten "resolutions" last maybe two or three weeks and when people mess up, a typical response is something like, "I'm going to go to hell for having a glass of wine."

As I mentioned in my New Year's resolutions post, giving something up is hard for people to do. It's like a punishment and a continual punishment gets some type of rebellion, like saying, "Screw it. I like having a glass of wine with dinner so I'm done denying myself."

Adding things to one's life is easier...things like writing a letter or calling a friend, looking in on a elderly parent, taking a friend to the doctor for an appointment, smiling at a stranger, thanking someone for excellent service. It's those little gestures that mean a lot, take very little effort, but bring tremendous satisfaction for the receiver as well as the giver.  

So that is what I plan to do for Lent. And I want these actions to last longer than six weeks.

Blessings to you ~ 

www.basilicaofsaintpaul.com