Mersydotes

These most recent photos that Papa Mersy has sent from the prairie have absolutely blown me away.  When I opened the first photo in my email inbox a few days ago, I really did gasp as the black-eyed Susan slowly loaded on my screen.   These pictures brought to mind a work of fiction that I recently read in the New Yorker.   Quaestio de Centauris by Primo Levi isn't just the story of the genesis of centaurs, but also of the moment when all of life surged forth on the Earth's surface.  He describes the day after The Great Flood of long ago:  " When the waters retreated, a deep layer of warm mud covered the earth. Now, this mud, which harbored in its decay all the enzymes from what had perished in the flood, was extraordinarily fertile: as soon as it was touched by the sun, it was covered with shoots from which grasses and plants of every type sprang forth; and, further, its soft, moist bosom was host to the marriages of all the species saved in the ark. It was a

Summertime.  The outskirts of the city have a strange smell of hydrangea and trash, garlic and exhaust.  Block after block of brick pre-war corridors, six stories tall, windows dotted with the kitties and pups that call this jungle home. 36 train stops away you can breath if the incongruity between mass transit and high-rises and shells and baby crabs doesn't choke you first. Penny dashed and tumbled and burrowed and bounded over the sand, with a lick here and there of the salt water and a consternated little sneeze of disbelief. The wind picked up and sand flew into our ears.  It spirited my hat away and coated our picnic lunch.  We forged ahead until out teeth couldn't bear the grittiness, no matter how hungry we were. Another work week gone, the sun now blazing.  Taking care of most of our daily business in Spanish as the street fills with fresh fruit that has traveled to us from goodness-knows-where. Celebrating Queens Pride Parade with music and danc

At the last yarn night, my knitting buddies and I drank wine, taught our husbands how to chain stitch, laughed, whined, ate Thai food, crocheted, and also make a resolution.  We decided that before our next meeting, each one of use would learn a new technique that was just a bit intimidating.  No complacent crocheters or knitters for us! I decided that I definitely needed to branch out and try Tunisian crochet.  It's that perfect bridge between crocheting and knitting, kind of like knitting sideways.  Plus, you get to use a huge hook! Turns out, there's nothin' to it ; )  So far, I've just been doing the Tunisian Simple Stitch, but there's also the Tunisian knit and purl to be used in combination for amazing textured fabrics.  What I'm working on at the moment will be a big, squishy pillow with pompoms all along the edges.  I just need to pick up a few more skeins of pink and white. Are you feeling brave and ready for a new technique?  What yarny cha

Oooooooh, what I wouldn't give to be able to walk through the knee-high prairie in downstate Illinois that we first help plant two whole years ago.  Can you believe that so much has already taken root and sprung up to sway in the wind in look to the sky?  I've heard that the first few years of a prairie's growth are focused on root development so as to beat out the competing weedy species and protect its self from fire.  Can't you imagine the energy emanating up from the soil as all those roots stretch out and reach for one another, seeking out nutrients and water?  It's a miracle.  Here are a few snapshots from Papa Mersy's most recent trip to tend to the prairie: Pondering on the root systems spreading out through that little patch of central Illinois makes me think of the sidewalks here in Queens that are buckled and crumbling, rolling with the shape of the tree roots that have conquered them.  I get a happy little sense of rebellious satisfact

Every once in a while, we seem to get it just right and stumble upon a moment of almost unbelievable tranquility.  Would you like to join us on our most recent stroll?  We spent a sunny, blustery, warm day  on Roosevelt Island, and nothing could have been better.

Hello, my lovely peeps!  I've missed you!  Days have been flying by, and I'll realize it's a Thursday already, and think, "What happened to Tuesday and Wednesday?  What did I wear?  Did I have a snack?"  Everything is in flux at the moment for Mr. Mersy and I.  We're both beginning new job adventures that have surprised us and scared us and disappointed us and excited us.  But it's good that things are moving and shaking.   A year and a half ago, I'd never been to New York City.  I'd never faced conflict at work; I'd never stared down poverty and actually found food, jobs, and clothes for those I worked with; I'd never been called racist names; I'd never resigned from a good thing; I'd never battled yellow and black mold; I'd never reported a crime; I'd never hired anyone; I'd never started at the bottom and been promoted; I'd never been confident to speak my heritage version of Spanish; I'd never been an adv