this idea was totally STOLEN from my buddy BJ Hill,
who just turned 33 (gasp!)…

since life does indeed seem to pass by in the blink of an eye…

i am going to attempt to post one photograph from my life each and every day…

i hope you enjoy these moments as much as i enjoy capturing them!

 ~ WHYvonne

this shot came about as a result of a recent camping trip to
myles standish state forest in carver, massachusetts.
while making a list of necessary equipment to take along,
one wiseguy in our party jokingly suggested,

“everybody bring ONE shirt, ONE pair of shorts, ONE pair of socks…”

to which 12 year old benjamin replied enthusiastically,
“YES !…we change on wednesday!”

which led yours truly to make everyone a
t-shirt bearing that sentiment.

(it actually DID become a contest
to see who got the DIRTIEST by week’s end…
we all showered daily but wore the same
white t-shirt ONLY while at the campground!!)

you gotta love kids at this age.
EVERYTHING is funny.

thanks to all who came out on saturday evening 
to the reception for “new beginnings”
at the sturbridge coffeehouse…

thank you to pia and jen
for the opportunity…

thanks also to jonathan cook
of the sturbridge town common
for the story…

and thank you to bruce and michael
for the lovely acoustic tunes,
particularly “body of my soul”…
(i only hope i can do
the background vocals justice…)

love & peace,
~ yvonne

dark and dimming
so hopelessly sans hope,
you tried your hand again

what can i do for you? my plaintive wail
“put me back in your womb.”

helpless, shaking, spun around
feelings overwhelm and
i coccoon myself…

saturated with details
meetings, and calls
playing the game,
repeating your name
it’s all the same

i am here for you.
i fight for you, i comfort you
i cry for you, would die for you.
but who will save me?

…approximately 73 days to go! just committed to the Vineyard ride for MS, opting for the measly 50K so as not to embarrass myself and others. LOL.

time to put down the ben & jerry’s and put on the snowshoes! wish me luck…and please consider sponsoring me! no donation is considered too small!

enjoy this two minute video clip, made me actually laugh out loud.

i am not doing a lot of that these days, and i expect the next few posts will be a deep prussian blue.

happy first night of hanukkah to my friends who practice.

love & peace,
WHYvonne

conflicted, northampton

on holiday from this and many other things…

please excuse me while i try to figure out just exactly whatthephuck i think i’m doing. because, seriously, i thought i knew…

• handing my literary hero my $160 monteverde fountain pen, {when i removed the cap, there was a resounding CLICK! in the auditorium, stevie’s security guy standing behind him raised one eyebrow, then probably realized i didn’t look like much of a threat}, and somehow stammering “i am a calligrapher. would you use my pen?” i had something else exceptionally brilliant to follow that, but instead morphed into a 12 year-old girl needing to buy a vowel. i exited left as gracefully as i could, being herded along by the rest of the crowd, happy in the knowledge that He is the only other person to ever use that pen, except yours truly. {giggle.}
• the announcement of the benefactor of a portion of ticket sales, the food bank of western massachusetts, {more introductions here} ~ and the bookstore owners bringing out a comically large check in the amount of $18,565.00 !
• king, commenting on dead zone: “when mccain picked palin as his running mate, tabitha and i looked at each other and said ‘that’s greg stillson in a skirt!’ “
• king, answering a question about his books-turned-movies: commenting on the new verizon commercial, where the two dead-looking twins get off the elevator, a-la-the shining, and say “it’s a dead zone here.” and how horrifying that kind of stuff is to him.
• when asked by moderator joe donahue {host of “the roundtable” on WAMC, 90.3 FM}, “what’s your favorite curse word, and why?”…steve did a spot-on imitation of kathy bates as annie wilkes in “misery“: “he didn’t get out of that COCKADOODIE CARRRR!” …then expounded a little on expressions that cracked him up as a kid: “i wouldn’t give a tin shit!” and “shit or go blind.” …much laughter here. fellow author richard russo deferred answering first, so he could compose himself…and went on to tell a tale of how the “c” word is used commonly in england, much like “bitch” is here. how he called his daughter recently, who works in a family-owned frame shop in london, and her use of the word over the telephone. his kneejerk reaction: shock. then, chuckling, “i am so proud of her!” …thunderous applause.
• stephen king discussing “on writing“, and the Q & A session at the conclusion of the discussion.

 this girl left with a huge shit-eatin grin on her face, and in her very heart.

yes, i have been absent. just a little too much going on in this life at present. i am frustrated over my inability/unwillingness/demotivation to express myself either through this venue, or visually as an artist.

a tiny spark has emerged through my association with massscribes, and their incredibly talented members. also some bright shiny spots have weaved themselves into my very soul due to my recently renewed reunion with former classmates who still practice the fine arts. i am at once in awe and more than somewhat intimidated

…but reflexively retreat rather than create.

i visualize a million tiny pieces of me, hurtling into space.

i am disappointed in my apparent lack of ability to dissociate emotionally and be more captain spock-like, capable of critical and logical thought, without all the complications of feelings.

and why ~ oh why ~ does my horrorscope have to be so SPOT ON today ?!?!

October 22

Whether you choose to acknowledge it or not, there is a child inside of you who needs tending, dear Leo. You are all grown up, and proud of who you have become. And well you should be. But we are all the sum total of who we once were. Today’s planetary positions suggest that you spend some time acknowledging the various parts of your past. That includes the good parts as well as the not-so-good parts. It is only after you have integrated all these different elements of yourself that you can truly be the person you are meant to be.

look for a post soon on my upcoming meeting with the king!, or my mother’s recent heart surgery, my collaboration on a book!, laying down some vocals with an old friend; or my new hiking and volleyball adventures…{giggle}…but certainly not the upcoming mindphuck which is the presidential election.

until then, i remain…
perplexed,

eyes wide shut
narrowing my world
til only you shine through

a sliver of light
illuminating
my heart in blue

closing every door
except those
i leave open

…only for you.