bluegraygreen's blog

If you could easily choose to live in another country without all the red tape and legal stuff, which one would you select and why? 
Submitted by Matthew 25.

Oh dear, would it be Spain or Brazil?

Spain for the oranges and duende and tapas and siesta and flamenco and probably a million other reasons that I wouldn't know about until I lived there.

Brazil because it is HUGE and has a gigantic city and gigantic river and a gigantic countryside. And it is warm there. And for the spirit that is carnival and beth carvalho and gilberto gil and ...

I wonder why I pick two countries that suffered under dictatorship but broke free into an incredible celebration of soul and life and music.

And it's cloudy and bright

Moonsprinkle

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Moonhouse

A cousin I haven't seen since 1980 sent me to look at some pictures she had up from a reunion we had that year.

It was the Gears family reunion in Jobs (long O, like the tortured fella from the Bible) Ohio, where my great-grandmother and grandmother were born and raised. A mining town at the turn of the century, it attracted mostly immigrants. Including my Swedish great great grandfather. My great great grandmother was English. They had their children and raised them on Swede Hill in Jobs.

My great grandmother, Muriel Gears, is said to have been the local midwife with much knowledge of herbal lore. She raised her kids to look towards a life outside of the coal mines. Three out of four went on to college. One stayed behind and worked the mines. He is the unintended namesake of my son, his name was John Milo Gears. My son is Milo Gears Brown Hermann.

The picture posted above means so much to me because while I was pregnant with Milo I very deeply felt the presence of these two women. They came to me in dreams and told me of childbirth. Grandma Gears being very forthright. Throughout my pregnancy I would feel a presence in the room and know that it was Grandma Brown. I know that they were with me at the hospital. Perhaps they continue to watch over Milo but they must be his alone because I don't feel that presence as clearly as before. Besides they have about six other little Brown-Gears babies to watch over these days.

Time for soup and pumpkin bread.

when I don't have to leave the house and I don't even have to get out of my pajamas.

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If only someone would deliver a bottle of red wine (almost typed "wed rine", I don't need drinks to be incoherent).

I wish I could tell myself hilarious jokes and spend all day laughing.

Because it feels so good, like cool, blue, pure bubbling stream water running through my throat when I laugh for the right reason.

Cynical laughs don't get me that.

But laughing at fart jokes, burps, and my little boy telling me we don't use *that* word in our house when I said, "Stupid stupid stupid" about something while on the phone.

Those make me feel great.

Got a good fart joke?

 I just wasted hours I'll never reclaim flipping through channels on the boob toob.

I always feel guilty afterwards, but beforehand I'm thinking, "It'll do no harm and it's good to do nothing."

I got nothing out of it. Except stupidity, nudity, and boobs are what interests us all. Along with a slew of other bad news type scare stuff. Then there's Suze Orman baring her teeth at us to get our credit card debt in line. Is it *really* necessary to continue to ask her questions? Haven't all the questions been asked?

For the coming year I'm going to plan out better the things I can do INSTEAD of watching TV. Not because I actually watch it that much, but because I could use the list.