Jana Remy
  • Writing
    • Disability
    • Making History
    • Digital Humanities
      • dayofDH
    • Canoeing
    • Creative Nonfiction & Essays
    • Feminism
    • Bibliographies
      • Pacific Worlds Bibliography
    • Social Media
      • Mentions/Links
  • Scholarship
    • Awards/Fellowships
    • Conferences & Invited Talks
    • Collaboration
    • Workshops
    • Conference Planning
    • Technical Skills
  • Teaching
    • Blogposts About Teaching

Jana Remy

  • Writing
    • Disability
    • Making History
    • Digital Humanities
      • dayofDH
    • Canoeing
    • Creative Nonfiction & Essays
    • Feminism
    • Bibliographies
      • Pacific Worlds Bibliography
    • Social Media
      • Mentions/Links
  • Scholarship
    • Awards/Fellowships
    • Conferences & Invited Talks
    • Collaboration
    • Workshops
    • Conference Planning
    • Technical Skills
  • Teaching
    • Blogposts About Teaching
Daily Archives

March 22, 2006

full spectrum
deep thoughts

full spectrum


This post is inspired by runlulurun and by my Mom, whose favorite color is beige….

When I first married I wanted an all-white house. White couches, white carpet, white duvets and fluffy white feather pillows. Prior to my wedding I hand-quilted an all-white ‘whole cloth’ quilt with intricate designs of overlapping rings and leaves. Staring into the lines of that quilt I saw the beauty and possibilities of the future. It was as if my life was a blank, white slate and I only needed to weave my life’s pattern among the whirls and circles of the future as it lay wide open in front of me.

When I turned 30 I changed 180 degrees and started wearing black most of the time. Perhaps it was the awareness of getting older, perhaps it was the cumulative depression of too many years at home as the full-time caregiver of my kids. Perhaps it was the 10 pounds that sat on my hips and belly that didn’t show quite so much when I wore all-black. Oh, sure, I occasionally wore a white blouse or a grey skirt. But the bottom line was that I almost always wore black. Black jeans, black jumper, black t-shirt, black shoes, black socks…

Well, lately the most amazing thing has happened. As if I woke up one morning and discovered that there was color. A few months ago I bought a bright orange wool coat–not a timid burnt-orange, mind you, but _bright_ orange. I acquired T-shirts in apple green and peacock and peach and salmon and slate. I bought a skirt with a white background and a whimsical flowered pattern w/not one black line to be seen. My favorite jackets are navy, tan, and baby blue. I’m wearing a chartreuse cardigan when it’s chilly in the house instead of a black one.

Now, not only am I wearing brights, but I am wearing them willy-nilly–mixed and matched, all at the same time. Orange and pink and watermelon all in the same outfit. Peacock and baby blue layered over each other. A button-down maroon shirt with a pale pink tank top underneath. A brown skirt with any of the above colors. I still wear black sometimes–especially my favorite pair of black dress pants, and my long black tiered skirt with layers of frothy chiffon ruffles. But I love that the black section of my closet is quickly being overpowered by layers and layers of COLOR.

A part of me wants to analyze this and figure out why I am changing. But another part of me doesn’t want to. Instead I want to don a multicolored scarf, my latest rainbow outfit and head out the door. For I am certain that adventure lies ahead.

March 22, 2006
0 Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest
it’s a miracle
deep thoughtsfamily

it’s a miracle


Two weeks ago Sunday I was sitting in one of the wing-back chairs reading and I casually remarked to John,

“When Toby becomes old and fat someday, I hope she becomes a lap kitty.”

As I said this Toby walked by where I was sitting and stretched–a long lean cat stretch that only this petite little not-even-5-pound kitty can do. She reaches out her front legs and elongates her trunk until you are sure she’s going to snap in two because there’s only a skinny little ribcage w/about a 3″ circumference pulled between front and back paws.

John sort of guffawed, as if to say “Yah, right. Toby’ll never trust anyone’s lap.”

Toby truly lives up to the name “scaredy-cat.” The first months of her life are a mystery, but we do know that our neighbors adopted her from the local shelter when she was about 4 months old. But she didn’t acclimate well to life with two small children and took to living in our garden instead of with her owners. Toby, smaller than most of the bunnies and rats who live in the garden, held her own against the coyotes and hawks until our friend Karen caught her for us. I had tried to catch her myself, but gave up after having my neck shredded a couple of times.

Karen, cat-handler-extraordinaire, bundled Toby in a sweatshirt and brought her to our house. Toby immediately decided that E was the only human she would even allow to come near her and promptly took up ownership of E’s bed.

Since that day 2 years ago Toby has made some strides in becoming more comfortable with our family, but she still rarely tolerates any sort of affection and DOES NOT LIKE BEING HELD. I say this in caps, because if you ever come to our house you’ll remember not to reach over and pick up Toby. It’s oh-so-tempting because she’s barely bigger than a gerbil and has the softest fur ever. But BEWARE THE CUTE KITTY. She’s got fangs (I mean, uh, claws) and she knows how to use them.

So…last Sunday you could’ve knocked me over w/a feather when I was sitting up to the table typing on my laptop and Toby, ever-so-matter-of-factly, stepped off from the table and onto my lap, purring as if she was a teakettle boiling dry, and curling up in a ball. She’s done it several times since then, even just now as I am typing on my laptop at the sewing table in my bedroom. I still can’t figure out if she thinks my lap is attached to me, or if it’s just some type of chair that happens to follow me around everywhere. I can hardly imagine that she’s actually trusting her body to come in close contact with a human, much less a human that isn’t E.

But what I really hope is that she heard my wish two weeks ago and decided that it was time to show me how much she loves it here, and to say thanks for the cozy bed to sleep in and the magic kibble bowl that’s never empty. :)

March 22, 2006
0 Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest

About Me

About Me

Hi there friend, and welcome to my blog. I started writing on the internet two decades ago. Since then I've started and finished a PhD program, left the Mormon church and became a Quaker, got divorced, remarried, found full-time work in academia, took up rock climbing and outrigger canoeing, and traveled across the globe (China! Belgium! Italy! Chicago! Montana! Portland! Gettysburg! and oh-so-many points in-between). This blog is eclectic and random--it has poetry and cooking and books. And cats. And flowers. And the ocean (my ocean). But in that sense it's a good reflection of me and my wide-ranging, far-reaching, magpie curiosity.

Subscribe via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog.

Popular

  • 1

    A Room of My Own

    December 4, 2017
  • 2

    the post-post divorce Christmas celebration

    November 28, 2017
  • 3

    Reader, I married him

    March 22, 2017
  • 4

    open

    December 21, 2017
  • Ellycat

    January 2, 2019

Categories

Archives

Popular Posts

  • 1

    A Room of My Own

    December 4, 2017
  • 2

    the post-post divorce Christmas celebration

    November 28, 2017
  • 3

    Reader, I married him

    March 22, 2017

Calendar

March 2006
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  
« Feb   Apr »
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Flickr

@2017 - PenciDesign. All Right Reserved. Designed and Developed by PenciDesign


Back To Top