The Ciel Show

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Friday, April 24, 2020

Inject Lysol...?

This guy reminds me of the woman who called the Hayden Planetarium when I was a volunteer there just after the first moon landing. It was raining a LOT in New York City that summer. I happened to pick up the phone when she called to suggest--because the astronomers probably hadn't thought of it--that when they were tromping around up there on the moon, they broke the shell. She was right, of course: the astronomers had not thought of that. Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 10:53 AM | add or view comments (3) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Well, here's a thing...

Thinking about Earth Days I've known and been part of, I looked up Procession of the Species, an annual event in Olympia, Washington for 25 years now. I was, by happy accident, in the very first Procession, carrying a banner, a batik sarong fabric I'd just bought before coming across the staging area for the parade through the streets of downtown Olympia. Charlie, aged 9, was with me, and we marched together to the beat of the samba bands and dancers that have always been a hallmark of the... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 9:04 AM | add or view comments (9) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Tuesday, April 21, 2020

Evening Thunder

Yes, after a grey day, the clouds piled up, and the rain was visible across the valley, against the mountains. And then there was thunder! Pretty early in the year for thunderstorms, they are usually a high summer kind of thing. I 'babysat' with my granddaughter Elsa today. We've discovered that we can hang out face to face on her mommy's 'portal' app, and a couple of times now, I have sat with her, watching her play and draw, and she holds up her artwork every so often for me to admire. She... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 6:40 PM | add or view comments (3) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Sunday, April 19, 2020

Expeditions and Arrivals

I went grocery shopping for the first time in three weeks yesterday. Charlie has been going into the store with my list up to now, but I have a nice new filter mask now, and there are things I have to choose myself, like coffee. The coffee supply in my cupboard has been getting very low, and the one bag of grounds still there is a coffee that as it turned out, I don't like very much. I looked online for coffees that can be delivered to my door, considered several--but the most interesting ones... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 9:14 AM | add or view comments (5) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Thursday, April 16, 2020

Living in the days of pandemic

Spring day yesterday, snow day today... but spring is gaining on winter day by day. I'm sitting here waiting for my hair to dry enough to go back to bed for a while, feeling so sleepy I am fading out while typing. But the parakeets are chirpy enough to keep the house from being too quiet. I noticed when I was outside that the sounds of the surrounding city and the interstate highway about two miles away are much quieter. So much we hear without hearing in normal times! The 'keets seem to react... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 8:35 AM | add or view comments (6) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Tuesday, April 14, 2020

Avocado Wonderland

My favorite avocados are the great big ones grown in Florida, sometimes called Alligator Pears, and only available at grocery stores rarely and briefly. So I signed up with the Miami Fruit Company about 3 months ago, committing to at least 4 shipments of their really large avocados. They are not so much large, as huge! These big ones have big seeds that I've had better luck starting than any of the smaller Haas seeds, so that's a bonus along with the bigness and flavorfulness of these mighty... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 10:51 AM | add or view comments (6) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Monday, April 13, 2020

"...And one more thing!"

And so here comes Winter again, unwilling to quit the argument with Spring. Several more inches of Winter on the back porch railing greets me this morning, and lazy flakes are dancing in the air. It is stacking on the spruce branches, looks like a heavy one. The lilac leaves, just getting started, are all encased with snow. This isn't as bad as it sounds: the snow insulates against the hard-freeze temps in the teens. I am not tired of being manditorily at home. I am sooo very tired of living in... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 8:18 AM | add or view comments (3) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Sunday, April 12, 2020

We are not alone

Today is the second anniversary of the passing of Dame Daphne Sheldrick. Her legacy is the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, and the several stations in Kenya where orphaned African wildlife are rescued and raised to be returned to the wild. All those moments when you deplore the actions and effects of human beings on the planet, remember it's not all humans: There are the Jane Goodalls, the Daphne Sheldricks, and the David Attenboroughs and so many others, many we don't know by name, who carry on the... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 9:04 AM | add or view comments (4) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Saturday, April 11, 2020

Return to Normal is the last thing we need.

Normal is what got us into this mess! To walk through this crisis into a cleaner, more sustainable, more humane world is what we need: A clear, determined change of tide to finally overcome the turmoil and resistance of the old tide. Many of those invested in the old will still fight in every desperate way they can against the new, and many will just sit back and let others with more energy, more willingness to put themselves on the line, make the change happen. Not surprising, that so many of... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 6:38 AM | add or view comments (6) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Thursday, April 9, 2020

Spring Winter Spring Winter...

Got my stack of bills all lined up for a pay-by-phone or online session later today. Then I can quit thinking about them for another month. I'm lucky, I can handle them all without anxiety for now. I feel for those who can't, I've been there, too, but without the circumstances of a pandemic to call for rent and mortgage relief. I dread ever being there again. Another bout of winter is coming. The past several days have been warm, up into the 70s F, but today the forecast high is below 60. Snow... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 8:46 AM | add or view comments (9) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

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About this Blog

I'm doubtful the events of my life will be of great general interest, but I'd like to share a little more of me to the several of you on Blogit I've come to feel are real friends, and the many I imagine are potentially real friends. We'll see how it works out. ______________________ all my words and images posted on Blogit are copyright 2005-present, all rights reserved.

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