1/08/12 - Amalgam

Picture from http://www.art.com/products/p14443136-sa-i3041479/sem-wisdom-tooth-with-amalgam-filling-enhanced.htm?sorig=0?WT.cg_n=Gallery+Search+Redirect&WT.oss=amalgam

I like the word amalgam.  It has several meanings, and one of them is shown above - its the stuff that they use to fill cavities.  Who knew that a wisdom tooth would be considered art?

But the meaning I was thinking of today is " A combination of diverse elements; a mixture", and that's what I'm writing today today.  I've got all sorts of different thoughts bouncing around in my head but no single one is really worthy of an entire blog.

Friday afternoon my friend Steph couldn't winetaste with me, and its a shame because the table was a range of reasonably priced wines that were mostly very good which made up for the not so good vodka on the end.
Lets just say that alcohol sold in a large plastic bottle is for those who are looking for something that won't break when you drop it ;)

But I did happen to run across an old acquaintance (cue Auld Lang Syne), my bff's brother.  I'd noticed him in the store once or twice before, but this time he was at the table next to me, so I said hello and introduced myself.  We chatted for a bit and he sounded just like he did 30some years ago, which is probably the last time I had a conversation with him.  He has aged into the 60's hippie look which would be fine except he's at least 10 years younger than that.....so my first thought (kept to myself of course) was "Damn he's old".

But then again occasionally I catch a glimpse in a mirror on one of my less than put together days and think "Damn I'm old".  I don't like it, but there's really not anything I can do about it without spending a lot of money for cosmetic surgery.....more practical to just not look too close.

Which brings up an interesting thought.  Maybe we shouldn't look so close.   Now, I don't mean that we should let ourselves be taken in by con artists , or that we should ignore the bad things in this world (like those Chinese folks who walked past the injured toddler without stopping).

But we find what we are looking for - and focusing on flaws and imperfections makes it more difficult to see the good and the positive and the wonderful that exists in just about everyone and everything.

And that seems like a good place to leave this blog.

January 3rd - Tuesday Thoughts

We had our first snow squalls today - for all of five minutes it felt like a blizzard, but it passed quickly and all we are left with is COLD.  Below freezing cold which wouldn't be a big deal except we had highs in the 50s just two days ago....in fact Times Square in NYC was 46 degrees at midnight when the ball dropped New Years Eve.

Had the thermometer slowly crept downward week after week, I think most of us wouldn't have noticed the cold nearly so much in the same way that we don't notice the extra minute of light we get each day that passes by.

Or the way that I didn't notice cardinals.  Here in Maryland they are quite common, and my backyard is home to several pair year round.  But a Canadian friend of mine was quite entranced with their bright red beauty because she doesn't have them in her neighborhood. 

(not my picture - I couldn't get the camera out fast enough credit to http://www.flickr.com/photos/jkunzephotos/5601386221/ )

So now I pay more attention and appreciate them more because not everyone is lucky enough to see them every day.  And yesterday as I watched them flit about from branch to branch I had an odd thought.

Do birds have a memory?  Do they know what they did yesterday and the day before - do they make plans for tomorrow?  Or is their life like the movie 50 First Dates where every day stands alone with no memory of the past?

At first I thought it would be terrible to have no memory- to be unable to learn from past experiences, or to remember special moments again and again. 

But then again - it means that every morning you would look at the world with fresh eyes, every experience new for the first time no matter how often it had happened before.  You'd never take anything for granted.

I'm not sure that would be such a bad thing......