Circuitious ramblings

Hubby just went off to work after a ten day break which didn't thrill him. I mean, going back to work didn't thrill him. Didn't thrill me either, to be honest. He's had to work so much overtime these last few years it should be illegal. (In fact, it probably is illegal, but then, when did that ever stop the government from doing what it wanted and insisting the rules didn't apply to them.) He's gone so much that on more then one occasion it's startled me when he's come back home on time. It's not that I don't enjoy him being home, and he certainly deserves the time off, but it's sort of like being a military wife - when he's gone I have a routine and when he's home it's an adjustment.

One of those adjustments being, no privacy for blogging. Sure, I could blog with him home, but it's just one more person who's energy I'm tied into, and it's hard for me to concentrate enough to be creative or even coherent when there are too many people around. It's from spending so many decades being the hub of the family, the "main circuit operator" as it were - you know, in the olden days when you had the person at the desk with all the wires and they plugged together or disconnected all the phone calls. It's a great skill for a mother, to be able to juggle all those different wires at once, but not so great for the focus of an artist or writer. I'll probably never be able to completely shut out the people around me, so I need a lot of privacy to be able to work on anything that requires most of my attention.

The decluttering is going well, if more slowly then I had anticipated. With hubby home, I was able to force him, with minimal whining, to go through some of his hot spots, and the piles of things to be given away or boxed up for garage sale are growing exponentially!!! Today marks the one week period for my self imposed deadline for the general rearranging stage of things. Perhaps the adrenalin of knowing that will speed things up.

The other night I was going through stacks of magazines while watching a silly fantasy movie. I sacked up all the old Mother Earth News and the old Organic Gardening with only the briefest of glimpses through a few of the issues. You never know where you'll find a gem of an idea, recipe, or thought. Like this quote, which I found in an article about a garden outside of Mexico City:

"Mas vale la gracia de la imperfeccion, que la perfeccion sin gracia."

It said this was carved into an obelisk in the Plaza de los Archangels, Mexico City. It means:

"The grace of imperfection has more value then perfection without grace."

I really like that. Perfection means nothing if it's persued for it's own sake. The intent, the meaning, the process counts for more then the outcome. This is true for our gardens, for our art, for our relationships, for ourselves. Perhaps we could all be more forgiving of ourselves and others if we kept this quote in mind.

I was showing the clipped page with the quote to my hubby when it occurred to me that I might be able to find out more about the garden or the owner of it by googling about it. I doubted that I'd find anything, the article came from a 1989 magazine! I was delighted and surprised to find many hits on it. It turns out that Diana Kennedy, the woman who owned the garden, is a well known chef and expert on Mexican cooking. Which is ironic since she is originally from the UK.

This is probably what I most love about the internet. Hmmmm, maybe friends first, then resources. But it would be close. I love the ability to quench my thirst for information almost instantaneously. "Where have I seen that actor before?" "Mom, are chrysanthemums edible?" "What's the name of that town we went to that had the pirate ship in the harbor?"

Not only do I love how I can find a specific piece of information, but I also love the treasure map style rambling that a single question often sets off. One interesting tidbit leads tantalizingly to another and then another and pretty soon a search for the name of a garden ends up in a hunt for football sweatshirts for dogs, tromping through tortilla making, hurricane seasons, stingrays, and J K Rowling on the way there.

Of course on the negative side, these unexpected frolics through the collective archives of techno-nerds world wide means I can spend a lot of time on the computer I hadn't intended to spend. I won't say wasted, as learning is never wasted. But it does make for a shorter day in which to tend to other projects and tasks. Ahem. Speaking of which....

I must get back to my rearranging. The to-go piles are getting very near the toppling stage, and that would be a bad thing.