Shawn L. Bird

Original poetry, commentary, and fiction. All copyrights reserved.

lies April 19, 2011

Filed under: Literature,Pondering — Shawn L. Bird @ 9:17 pm
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I lie to myself all the time.  But I never believe me.

(Ponyboy speaking in The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton p. 18).

  How true this is, eh?  We convince ourselves all the time of things that aren’t necessarily so, in order to function. 

  • “She loves me, even though she keeps saying she wants a divorce.” 
  • “The cancer won’t spread.” 
  • “I don’t need to do up my seatbelt.” 
  • “I’ll never get in an accident.” 
  • “It won’t matter if I have one more drink.” 
  • “The kids won’t remember I wasn’t there like I said I would be.”

We tell the lies to ourselves, but we don’t really believe them, so they niggle in the back of our minds, making us feel snappish and guilty.  We could be better, but we aren’t.   Preservation requires a little self-delusionment.  What happens when we are faced with the whole truth?  Can we find a new way of being?

 

Mid-life crisis? April 18, 2011

Filed under: Poetry — Shawn L. Bird @ 6:11 pm
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We were young and full of dreams
We learned that nothing’s as it seems
We wished at futures, grabbed at one
Played our games: lost or won.
Suffered, fought, rejoiced, survived
Collapsed, gave up, came out alive.
And now we look back at our choice
And rearrange to find the voice
We silenced when we made our pick
of futures piled and buried thick.
We re-invent the selves we were,
Embrace the dreams that we deferred,
Move forward into something new,
and grow beyond all that we knew.
We are less young. less full of dreams,
so we construct our own life themes.

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For S & L,

college sweethearts who are re-kindling romance 25 years later… 

Many blessings on you both.

 

strong and womanly April 17, 2011

Filed under: Commentary — Shawn L. Bird @ 3:46 am
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portrait of Charlotte by her mom

From the time I was eleven years old, I remember planning to name my daughter after my grandmother. My father’s mother was Charlotte, and I thought it was the most beautiful name! My mother assured me that I’d change my mind a hundred times before I grew up, but I didn’t. When my baby girl arrived, the nurse set her on my chest. When I whispered, “Welcome, Charlotte” it was like greeting someone I’d been waiting for my whole life. A few months after her arrival I asked my husband, “Did you even like the name Charlotte?” and he said, “Not particularly, but I’m used to it now.” He didn’t have any opportunity to disagree, the option was not negotiable.

Now our baby has grown into a beautiful, talented, caring young woman. She is a perfect blend of the best of her father and the best of her mother. She is remarkably intuitive when dealing with people (her father) and joyfully vivacious and creative (her mother). She is loyal, kind, and diligent. She is the epitome of her name’s meaning: strong and womanly.  I am proud of who she is and what she will be. I am always honoured to know her and I am blessed to be her mother.

 

French onion soup April 16, 2011

Filed under: Recipes — Shawn L. Bird @ 9:46 am
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When we were in France recently, we noticed onion soup on the menu of a small cafe for 20 Euros a bowl.  At that price, it’s not an appetizer! (I hope). I didn’t buy any in France, though it’s probably my favourite soup, and one wants to embrace all the tourist clichés!

However, after two weeks at home I was ready for a bowl  and made some tonight for dinner. I made a couple alterations to my normal way of doing it, and the result was the best onion soup I’ve ever made, so I’m recording exactly what I did for both my benefit, and for yours as well! This has a great mix of salt/sweet in it (and it cost about $2 to make, saving about 39 Euros). 😉

For 2.
Finely slice 2 medium onions.
In 2 tbsp of garlic butter (or plain butter with a clove of crushed garlic) gently saute the onions until starting to brown. Stir in two packets of Knorr OXO Beef bouillion sachets. Add 1.5 c of water, 1/8 c (30 ml) red wine, 2 tsp of soya sauce. Simmer for 20-30 mins.
To serve, sprinkle with cheese- parmesan is the easy choice, but swiss, emmental, gruyere are also options. You could add croutons before cheese if you like and if you use fresh cheese, broil or bake to melt the cheese before serving.

 

the best hat in the world April 14, 2011

Filed under: Commentary — Shawn L. Bird @ 12:10 am
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In the ruined 11th century fortress above Fontaine de Vaucluse, France

I own The Best Hat in the World.  It is a Tilley hat, of course.  My particular model is the Tilley TH8.  It has travelled with me to Mexico and France.  It stays on in the wind and shields me from the sun and the rain.   It has a lifetime guarantee, and it is really cute.  I love my hat.

Correction: I ownED the best hat in the world.  On March 21st I rushed off the train at Valence, France and raced for the connection to Lyon.  Five minutes after the train departed I realised I was missing my hat.  It had been above the packs on the racks above our heads.  When the bags were pulled off and set onto our backs, it had slipped behind and wasn’t noticed by the tall man I travel with who is supposed to check the high places…

Drat.

All is not lost.  Following the Tilley hat rules, my name and phone number are recorded on the label in the crown.  Inside there is a message from Tilley asking the finder to send it to them.  Tilley has me on file, and will send me my hat if it gets there.  They have already heard from me about my lost hat and have their fingers crossed as well.

When I reported the loss at the Lyon train station, the attendant was supportive.  I would have to call or fax officially for them to send it to me.  I knew I was not going to have phone access until I got back to Canada. I must have looked glum because he said, “Avoir courage, Madame!”  🙂  You’ve  got to love that kind of service.  I have since faxed to Lyon and requested them to send it to me “service contre rembursement”  (i.e. C.O.D.) though I greatly fear that the bill will be more than I paid for the hat.

Wish me luck!  I”ll let you know how it all works out!

Last recorded moments of Me and my Tilley hat together- in front of the Church of the Cordeliers in Avignon, where Laure de Sade is buried.

 

rare and amazing…;-) April 13, 2011

Filed under: Commentary — Shawn L. Bird @ 12:43 am
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Topic #95: What rare talent do you have that most people don’t know?

Carlin Medieval Feast

I have many skills that are a little out of the norm, but the one that seems to surprise people the most, is playing the harp.  To you loyal readers of this blog, this is old news.  Did it surprise you? Of course, I rarely practise these days, and so my skill level is deteriorating at a dramatic rate, but that doesn’t seem to matter. The fact that I own two harps and can make some semblance of music with them causes amazement. I confess, when I take a harp out in public and pluck the first strings, I am regularly astonished at how silent the room will become. I played a couple of old tunes at a Middle School Medieval Feast last month, and I couldn’t believe how silent Middle schoolers could be! 

For the record, it’s not hard to play a harp. The tuning of 33 or 44 strings is a bit of a pain, but the actual playing isn’t so terrible. If you can play a piano or read both treble and bass clef, you can read the music easily. Learning how to pluck will take only an hour or two to learn. Of course, putting it all together requires skill, but that’s about practice, not about inherent difficulty. A harp is no more difficult than a violin or an accordion to learn; you just sound much, much nicer while developing your skill! 😀

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PS.  If you are interested in learning to play the harp and either renting or buying one, click on BC Harps on the top of this page for links to teachers, stores and harp makers.

 

image April 12, 2011

Filed under: poodles — Shawn L. Bird @ 12:17 am
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You know how the magazines chase celebrities and shoot pictures of them without their makeup or in slobby clothes so they can say, “Ooh, look how nasty s/he looks when s/he’s not working!  S/he’s falling apart!”  Most of us don’t look our best 24 hours a day.  We may have to run out for milk without our most presentable ensemble on.  At home, we aren’t always gorgeous.  We wear our sweats, go without our make-up, and don’t worry about projecting a stunning, glamorous image.  Image is a false picture of reality.  No one is perfect all the time.

Take OJ.  A few days ago I showed you a photo of him looking all glamorous in a Continental clip.  He knows he looks good.  He prances with all the poodle panache of a champion in the ring at Westminster.  He looks classy.  If we’re out for a walk, Japanese tourists ask to take photos with him.  Strangers stop on the street to comment on how amazing he looks.  People in parking lots stop us to tell us what a beautiful dog he is.  Yup.  A standard poodle in the flesh is impressive.  Very much like meeting a celebrity.

But at home, all that “classy poodle” image stuff goes out the window.  OJ is just a dog.  Well.  Not quite a dog, but you know what I mean.

yeah- he's just that sexy

 

the power of a new reaction April 11, 2011

Filed under: Commentary — Shawn L. Bird @ 10:06 am
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Only a fool repeatedly does the same thing, and expects a different outcome.

Recently I taught Career and Personal Planning classes to  groups of grade 6 and 7s.  We have been working on bullying and kindness.  The point of this lesson is that we are all capable of being bullies in certain situations, and in these moments, when we are not our best selves, we can make better choices.  We discussed those situations at home, like fighting with our parents or little brother/sister that can feel like we’re caught in a script, following along the same words and coming to the same end- punches, slamming doors, hurt feelings.  We know the ending from the first word, because the behaviors are so entrenched.  The kids could relate to this.

The challenge was to  change.  Instead of responding the same way, they were to respond a different way.  Instead of joining the fight, they were to say something complimentary, or walk away, or give a gift.  Don’t do the expected thing.  Changing the response changes the ending.  The kids monitored the changes and reported their experience.  Universally, they diffused the fight.  Some were more successful than others, but all were astounded by how one small change in reaction, changed everything.

 When you find yourself entrenched in a hopelessly repetitious circle, make one change in reaction and see how it alters the world.

 

BFF April 10, 2011

Filed under: Friendship,Pondering — Shawn L. Bird @ 10:07 am
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Today I’m thinking about my first BFF.  I met my friend Cathy when I arrived at Nickle Elementary Junior High as a grade two student.  She was in grade one.  We lived a couple doors away from each other, so over the years we ended up spending more and more time together, inventing schemes, discussing first loves, pestering her brothers, and learning about the world.

Cathy travelled around the world, living at least briefly in North Humberside and Devonshire, England.  When she met her love in New Zealand, she lived in several cities there.  She’s been all over the UK, Europe, and Asia.  Her wedding was an international event!  These days she juggles a young family and a medical clinic with her musical and investment hobbies. 

We don’t see each other very often, but when we do, it’s as if no time has passed.  The connection remains as strong as it was back in elementary school.  People who know us in our youth know all the essential truths of our being.  It’s good to know they’re out there, even if we don’t get to see them as often as we’d like.  So here’s to those friends who’ve been there forever.  Who remember us at our geekiest and our most amazing.  Who have all the secrets that could get us into trouble, and guard them (except when they are tired of all the boy talk and choose to mortify us in front of said boy). 

 Here’s to our Best Friends Forever, whether they’re around the block or around the world.

Happy Birthday, BFF.

Got milk?

 

jumping off the plateau April 9, 2011

Filed under: Commentary — Shawn L. Bird @ 12:26 pm
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A plateau is a really great place to arrive at when you’re climbing a mountain. It’s nice to have a rest, settle in, admire the view. Eventually, you have to hoist the pack back on and strike out for higher places, more adventures, new experiences.

When you’re on a weight loss journey, a plateau can be a re-charging station. It can be the spot where you do some metabolic adjustment, slowly adding in foods you’d cut out during loss, and then stabilizing before cutting again and heading down.

Sometimes those plateaus are really stubborn. They send out tentacles and don’t let you leave. They become unsurmountable barriers that leave you frustrated as year after year you get mired there and are unable to move past.

Here’s to the perseverence that finally pushes off the plateau and with a shocking suddenness, deposits one down five or six pounds, landing firmly into numbers that haven’t been seen in decades. Wow! Celebrate the crashing past a plateau, because suddenly not only is the goal in sight, it’s as clear as can be there in the not to distant future.

Perseverence pummels the plateau. If you stick to the plan that works, it will get you there.