E is for....... and E is for Et cetera

Breaking with tradition, let's do the et ceteras first.

I promised uploaded pics of the baby. Click here for the birth (no "coming out" pics), the beautiful Miss AnaBanana, adorable grandsons playing, and assorted relatives and friends, most of whom you will have no idea who they are. But if you need a little extra sweetness in your day, grap a cuppa and enjoy.

I missed Self Portrait Tuesday. Spent some of the day trying to find a new washing machine, the rest of it feeling crappy. I caught a cold, courtesy of either my hubby or my grandsons. Wherever it came from, it's making me want to curl up on the couch with a warm blanket and vegetate. Hopefully I'll come up with something foolish to contribute before the week is through.

And speaking of curling up on the couch, I did just that to watch American Idol. This week was WOW! AWESOME! DA BOMB! An entire hour of being distracted enough to feel 90% less crappy. I could review the whole crowd again, but there's really not anyone left that I don't like. Still, Ace's performance was different, eh? I liked it even though I expected him to suddenly sound like "family" with that black suit and slicked back hair. But mainly I just want to say - I HEART Taylor. I had to rewind and watch his performance three times.

Okay, running out of energy here. So let's move on to this week's WordPlay.

E is for.........

Eleanor - my father's sister, my aunt, a fellow quilter, the family member everyone always said I looked most like when I was little

Eugene - Eleanor's husband (my uncle) and my father's middle name

England - fifteen more days until we leave for our trip to this ancient isle

education - my views on education are decidedly off center. I think one should never confuse the idea of schooling with the idea of education. They might be the same thing, but not necessarily. One can have a lot of schooling and very little education or conversely, very little schooling and a very broad education. I've got a lot of both, but I treasure my education far more then my schooling. I've homeschooled for four of my five kids (and a few other children along the way as well) for some or all of their school years. I've given all five of my children a good education. I believe it's more important to instill a love of life long learning in a child then it is to teach a child specific dates or numbers by certain ages.

earthquake - I live in California, I've felt a few.

El Centro - lived there for, thankfully, a very short time. Temperatures that rarely dip below triple digits, humidity at 80% or higher, winds off the Sonoran desert that felt like being blasted from an open furnace, white flies to breath in with every breath, less charm then many third world countries and only slightly more amenities. I know why we had to live there temporarily, but I truly question why anyone would live there on purpose.

eccentric - I've been called this. When I was younger I used to protest the label but now that I'm older, I take it as a high compliment indeed.

ecology - I've been a "tree hugger" from way back when. In fact I remember in the 1980's when being environmentally aware was out of fashion. I sometimes felt like the only one I knew who still cared about things like organic gardening, recycling, air quality, etc. I'm glad it finally came back into the general consciousness but it sometimes annoys me when people act like it's all new information.

editor - I'm very good at editing

eggplant - one of my favorite veggies. Eggplant parmesan on a crusty sourdough bun. YUM!

eight - for some reason this was my favorite number growing up. If you asked me my favorite number nowadays, I'd say "Nine", but eight would be a close second.

elderberry - I love MOnty PytHoN!

eldest- that's me. The oldest daughter. Responsible. Bossy. Little Miss Know-it-all.

enough - I don't want a lot, I just want enough

elements - I think you can probably learn anything you seek to know by using earth, air, fire, and water as your teachers.

enthusiasm - If you're gonna do something, why not do it with ENTHUSIAM!!!!

elves - I love magical creatures, archetypes for all those things we can only understand by first catching sight of them out of the corner of our eye. And I would soooo love to visit Rivendell or Lothlorien. (Please don't spoil it and tell me those places don't truly exist. If so, I don't want to know.)

ephemeral - morning dew, spiderwebs, smiles, falling stars, moments of bliss, rainbows, sandcastles - some of the most beautiful things in the world are the most fleeting.

empress - when I was first learning Tarot, I always wanted The Empress to show up in my readings. I loved her card, I thought she was lush and fertile and I wanted to be just like her. No matter how much I wished it though, she only made a few rare appearances. Now that I'm older, I totally understand why she wasn't around much when I was younger. She finally did show up in my life in a big and unexpected way about ten years ago. We visited the city of Victoria on Vancouver Island. Later, looking at photos we had taken, one shot was of me standing in front of a beautiful old building, The Empress Hotel. The photo showed me standing there with the words "The Empress" directly above my head. Even then, I looked at the photo a dozen times before one day I suddenly saw the picture for what it was - the card.

earth mother - when I was a young mother, I always wished I could be one. My idea of an earth mother was someone sort of voluptuous, peaceful, organic. Someone who wore hippy clothing and listened to Joan Baez and did macrame. Someone with a half dozen kids, even more pets, and able to keep houseplants not only alive but thriving. Someone who lived in a yurt and was named Laurel or Merle or Sunshine. I was none of those things. Okay, maybe the hippy clothes and the organic, but I wasn't pure about it or anything so it didn't count. Ironically in my 30's and 40's I was often referred to by others as an "earth mother type", which always made me laugh and wonder at their interpretation of the title.

enlightenment - I'm trying!