D'vorahDavida
Yetzirah

Escape from Urbania
Fri May 23 2003

Here is the original poem in English… Written one day after seeing a web cam picture of Fairbanks Alaska in the middle of winter.


Golden sky and twilight noon,
draw down the northern dancers.
The frozen branches with their icy lace,
help me weave my winter spell.

I'll make you dream under twilight skies,
no glare of sun will disturb you.
A slow deep sigh and a frosty breath,
is all you'll remember before you sleep.

I'll stop the river and hide the leaf,
lay a blanket of snow for good measure.
I'll stand watch over all the promises,
that you have made under midnight sun.

In other news:

We are going up to the mountains to visit my parents this weekend.

This means we pack up huge quantities of stuff that we may or may not need in order to feel at home. The car will be bulging, as usual.

I’m taking all my finished gourds to S. who is taking them along with her own to an art gallery that does consignment, where by some miracle they may decide to take our stuff in. My husband wants to take a giant box of frozen waffles from Costco, just to see my mother freak out at the sheer number of them and then fuss about where to PUT them all in the freezer. I am taking some family photos that I scanned and made copies of. Also a badge and lanyard from my downtown job so my parents can see that I wasn’t just making up a story. Kosher hot dogs are on the list for the barbecue they want to have. My mother thinks I’ll starve to death while I am under her roof if I don’t eat meat every day. I want to bring a bouquet of sweet peas from my garden and have been puzzling out how to do it using the ice chest. (the frozen waffles will just have to move over.) We are taking the GPS unit and perhaps we will hide our first Geocache up there where my dad can keep track of it. I am taking a book I borrowed from my daughter in law so I can return it to her. (“Big Trouble” by Dave Barry.) I WANT to take some spinach and chard from the garden but with the waffles and the sweet peas, I don’t think there will be room in the ice chest.

Robbie is coming and he has his own set of things to bring, like a blanket for him to sleep on in the back seat. He loves to go to the mountains. He gets to wander all over the yard and woods up there and nobody bothers him while he marks territory all day long in the fresh country air. Too bad he doesn’t know we’re going. Then he could enjoy some pleasant anticipation time. But he won’t “get” it until I start packing up. Then he is agitated until he finally gets IN the car as he is never sure if he’s being left behind till that moment, poor thing. It’s a strain on his old doggie nerves I’ll tell you.

Bob the cat will stay home. It is a matter of supreme indifference to him whether he goes with us or not, as long as his food dish is full when we leave. Although I will say he is usually very happy to see us when we come home. I am looking at him right now lounging over there on his cat tower. He is on his back with all four legs in the air. He looks ridiculous.

Anyway, that doesn’t even begin to add what my husband wants to bring plus the usual pile of clothes. It feels like we are going on safari in the grand style of long ago, instead of a three day trip up the road.

Okay, time to get packing!


8 Comments
  • From:
    Pragmatist (Legacy)
    On:
    Thu May 22 2003
    Oooohhh! Have fun.

    Yes, it does sound like a safari. I used to have a dog that loved travelling. Just the jingle of the car keys would send her into ecstacies.

    Shalom.
    Shabbat Shalom
  • From:
    Paulette (Legacy)
    On:
    Fri May 23 2003
    I see I'm not the only one who must pack everything I *might* need/want when I go somewhere.

    I love Dave Barry!

    I hope you have a good time and sell many gourds.

    You have an affinity for the name Robert? ;)

    Love,
    paul

  • From:
    Diane (Unauthenticated) (Legacy)
    On:
    Fri May 23 2003
    Have a great trip "home" to the mountains! Be sure to snap some pictures of your Mom with the waffles and how she deals with them! (Okay, I have a warped sense of humor!) Bless Robbies heart. I can see him now free and young again as he roams the wide open spaces in the clean air.

    Good luck with selling your gourds. Your latest creations are innovative and quite beautiful!

    Hope to see you before you leave. If not, happy and safe travels........
  • From:
    Diane (Unauthenticated) (Legacy)
    On:
    Fri May 23 2003
    Have a great trip "home" to the mountains! Be sure to snap some pictures of your Mom with the waffles and how she deals with them! (Okay, I have a warped sense of humor!) Bless Robbies heart. I can see him now free and young again as he roams the wide open spaces in the clean air.

    Good luck with selling your gourds. Your latest creations are innovative and quite beautiful!

    Hope to see you before you leave. If not, happy and safe travels........
  • From:
    RealmOfRachel (Legacy)
    On:
    Fri May 23 2003
    So like a cat isn't it! Have a good trip, it sounds like a lot of fun.

    Hugs
    Rach xxx
  • From:
    Bookworm (Legacy)
    On:
    Fri May 23 2003
    Loved the poem, by the way. Hope you have a lovely visit and fit yourselves into the car somehow. ;-)
  • From:
    LifeOFLouise (Legacy)
    On:
    Sat May 24 2003
    do NOT talk to me about packing, if i had a car i would be ok but i can only take as much as i can carry, three months worth of posessions on my back, i feel like a flipping snail.
  • From:
    Paulette (Legacy)
    On:
    Sun May 25 2003
    Robert Burns, huh? My Yorkshire Terrior is named Dickens after the novelist. Really. ;)

    Yes, I've heard of the Bob Convention. How funny! I even heard of a town that wanted to name their bridge Bob. LOL!

    p.s. My husband and I both enjoy your diary but we have a dispute over the pronunciation of your name. He pronounces Yetzirah with a long I and I don't. Would you settle this once and for all?

    Love,
    paul