up this morning early in the still dark to have some good chunk of time without the whirring sound of the fan and cooler.      and in this dark with the only light being this screen i am in New York City at a reading of Lydia Davis.  and then i go on to an email (!) interview~  she and The Believer.   and i realize how firmly i had shut that door to the part of me that "wrote" and loved looking at how others place and arrange      words.    and this was good to know.

but the best was next.   the coffee ready, i sat down in the "morning chair", turned on the sewing light which is nicely dim at this time of day and began the ritual of sorting through thoughts and feelings of this day in August, 2011  and there                  whipping around under the lamplight were two           FLIES              and at first i was incensed……   i am so sick of flies, they just won't QUIT

but because, i am sure, because of having gone to New York already and attended this poetry reading,  and thought about translating Proust or whoever,   it suddenly occurred to me that those two flies were just                        having fun          that they were doing really very funny things      flying in amazingly acrobatic forms     disappearing and reappearing  in the envelopes there   jumping on eachother from behind the highlighter pen               they were FUNNY!

so…thanks, Michelle.  who'dve guessed. 

005
 

 

 

 

 

Posted in

10 responses to “for Michelle in NYC”

  1. deanna7trees Avatar

    michelle did have a great post today. your talking about the flies made me laugh. i was bothered with flies when living in NY. i finally just decided to make them pets and all was good in the world after that. Herman was my favorite.

    Like

  2. linda Avatar

    nice to see you up early and thinking about writing. i think your writing is so wonderful to read. you always say it in a way that i’m thinking but can never put down.
    i have been pretty silent and aching to start my project but just no time. today was my day and now theo (the new dog) has created a mess that will take me hours to clean up. i am dawdling here instead of going to it. so i follow along you and jude and rest of the gang.
    my time will come, keep watching..

    Like

  3. grace Forrest~Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest~Maestas

    the flies are just part of August. no more leisurely
    meals outside.
    OR
    maybe i can extend this benevolent moment to what goes on out there? well… so many of their community outside…
    hmmmm.

    Like

  4. grace Forrest~Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest~Maestas

    Linda..i will always watch…and remember, it works for
    me…just pick something, anything, up and put one stitch and it just goes from there….it always works for me.
    that must be one BAD dog………….?????

    Like

  5. deanna7trees Avatar

    i read that those Bounce sheets that some people use in their dryer keep the mosquitoes away. i put one in my pocket when i go outside to water and it really works. maybe it works for flies as well.
    it’s so dry here that there isn’t anything flying around right now.

    Like

  6. Eva Ucgatwork Avatar

    Hi Grace,
    Jude’s “Magic Feather Project” did ignite some of the same thoughts: I love to write! So I did stitch a feather and wrote a story. And here’s the even better part: I love to carry on! More stories to be written ( and I promised at least one more feather flying in from Germany…)
    Nice to see my envelope …I asked the lady at the post-office to choose at least one nice stamp… what’s the use of a proper letter without beautiful exotic stamps? She agreed and found one. We talked for ages …nice!!!
    So…stories everywhere ..we’ve just to pick them up!
    Great weekend!!!
    It has been raining for days now – hope to go on a hike tomorrow,
    Yours eva
    P.S You like Proust? I’ve got to give him a chance once I’ve got enough time to read.

    Like

  7. jude Avatar

    and so it has been a bust day and i am here. the nice thing about the project is all the sudden snail mail. a bonus.

    Like

  8. grace Forrest~Maestas Avatar
    grace Forrest~Maestas

    stuff has a life of it’s own

    Like

  9. Michelle in NYC Avatar

    What a pleasant surprise to see myself addressed in a blog on my dashboard! So glad you enjoyed the dry wit and the complex thought of Lydia Davis, But, try to see the moon tonight if the sky allows. Meanwhile, isn’t it amazing all this cross-pollinating we get up to. I have begun my story- “Once Upon A Time…a fine, feathery time, in a particular year, long, long, very long ago, in a land called ‘Delight’, which was located, so far as I can tell, somewhere between the Provinces of ‘Despair’ and ‘Elation’.” So far it’s fun, though there is a startling event right at the head, It will co-evolve with the drawing, ad then cloth and needle work. Back an forth and onward.

    Like

  10. linda Avatar

    this dog is a puppy that gets into puppy trouble. he is better than a few months ago, but that isn’t perfect. i am stitching feathers in my spare moments.

    Like

Leave a comment