Saturday, November 24, 2007

Animal Friends' Thanksgiving Feast

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Oh Friends of the Forest
and Friends of the Air
I invite you to partake
of this Thanksgiving fare
With the hope that you're guided
safely to Spring
And always remember
the blessings it brings






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A belated Happy Thanksgiving to my human friends as well :)
Kimberley

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

What to do, what to do....

So.

It's hard to know where to begin (yes, it's going to be that kind of post),


eyerollmonster


but I want to start with my blessings.


  • Chris

  • a great family-- supportive, loving, fun, and all kinds of other groovy stuff. All the good things that I am come from them.

  • truly excellent friends

  • good health

  • a job that I know some people would kill for-- I'm well-paid for my field, generally appreciated, given the freedom to have ideas and go with them. Heck, in these times, just having ANY job is a blessing, much less one like mine.

  • a house with a mortgage that we can afford

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And yet...

Sometimes I am swept with this incredibly claustrophic feeling, like I just can't breathe and that spark of what makes me ME is being smothered.

Melodramatic enough for ya?

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This feeling mostly has to do with living in Atlanta. There's a great quote from Loreena McKennitt that I have posted on my office door:

"In the same way that I try to lead my life with few expectations,
I try to live it with no regret, and also no wishing that I was some other place".

I've really tried to embrace Loreena's way of thinking, and have tried to build community here and make Atlanta home. Here's a list:


  • I got involved with our neighborhood association, even becoming Vice President. Let's just not go into that, shall we?

  • Chris and I established our annual Halloween Party, and it's an event to which not only we look forward, but also our friends and colleagues.

  • We've (sort of) started a monthly potluck at Tallulah House

  • We've worked to make Tallulah House our tiny, little fortress where we feel safe and at peace. Thanks to family and the help they've given us, we've largely succeeded. Sure, there'll always be projects to do, but I'm at the point where I feel that we've made a good start on ensuring that Tallulah will be around for another 60 years.

  • I threw myself into the life of my workplace, and got heavily involved in professional organizations, eventually becoming president of a state organization and being asked to join the board of a national organization. I've mentored interns and others in my field. I've presented at conferences and incorporated technology in our daily professional life.

But...

Even my little Tallulah House isn't worth what it takes to live in Atlanta anymore. This is my fifth year here, and I am so completely over the traffic, the pollution, the commonly-held belief that God wants you to drive an SUV, the traffic, the rudeness, the expense, etc, etc.

I'm just so tired of it all.

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So where do I want to live? Well, it looks something like this:


  • closer to family

  • in the mountains, or close to

chinesemountains (Okay, these mountains are in China, but you get the idea)


  • big enough to be diverse and interesting, small enough to feel like home

  • affordable enough that we can have a house with two bathrooms

  • a community commited to sustainability

  • little traffic

I know, I know. Dream on.

Oh, and of course to go along with all of this angst is a massive load of guilt. I mean, hey, genocide in Rwanda, starvation the world over, honour killings, homelessness down the street from me, child slaves, child soldiers, old people stuck in nursing homes and then happily forgotten by their families-- just thinking about it all leaves me disgusted with myself and my pathetic concerns, and knowing that I'm completely undeserving of all those blessings.

Well, then, glad I could cheer you up! I'm sure you'll stop by again soon for another episode of "Poor, pitiful Kimberley". I have no doubt that I'm going to win the "Most Uplifting Blog" award.

I'll leave you with a quote that I actually DO like ;)

"Be the change you wish to see in the world" -- Gandhi

Thursday, November 15, 2007

The Big Ol' Medieval Wedding

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Having missed work on Monday (driving back from Orlando and across the great Georgia desert), I've been frantically trying to get caught up all week and also had commitments that kept me pretty late the past few nights. So, this is the first chance I've had to tell you all about the wedding at which I officiated this past weekend.

The short version is: it was great! The bride was beautiful, the groom could barely take his eyes off of her during the ceremony (which went very well), and the reception was lovely.


The long version: Chris and I left Atlanta around 7:30am on Saturday and got to the hotel around 3:30. We then proceeded almost immediately to Mead Gardens for the rehearsal, where we met the families and wedding party. Our friends hadn't engaged a wedding planner, so for a while confusion reigned. Though I tried to fight my naturally bossy instincts (I prefer to think of them as "leadership skills" in my more delusional moments), I finally Just Couldn't Stand It, and asked the bride if she minded if I took charge. She seemed happy that I asked, so I called on my loooooong experience with weddings (I've maid of honour-ed, I've bridesmaid-ed, I've sung, I've read, I've officiated-- see? Loooong AND varied experience!) and got us organized. Note: I happened to look around and see that Chris was grinning like a crack monkey. Apparently he'd bet someone that I wouldn't be able to take the standing around and would ask to take charge. Darn spouses!

After the rehearsal, we headed to Antonio's La Fiamma restaurant for an absolutely divine rehearsal dinner. I had the Ravioli Mezza Luna and I won't soon forget it, mmmmm. We finally had a chance to have an actual conversation with the happy couple, and it was so nice to get caught up. After that, Chris and I headed back to the hotel and slept for the next eleven hours (question: why is driving long distances so exhausting??). The next day being Sunday, and Sunday being meant for having brunch,I got on the internet and stumbled upon The Fiddler's Green, a cute Irish pub. We both ordered the Irish Breakfast breakfast (though I had them hold the meat on mine), and I proceeded to drink three large mugs of some amazing, malty Irish tea, the name of which I can't remember. Curses! In any event, it kept me going all day long. After brunch we headed over to the gardens to help decorate the ceremony area and then went back to the hotel to change.

Here's a shot of the dress (the dress of many trials and tribulations!):

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Ohhh nooooo! My head got cut off! Ha, ha, just kidding. I actually DESPISE being photographed, mostly because I look so horrible on film. This shot was no exception so I did deliberately, and with malice aforethought, crop off my own head. But, one thing that you can easily see is that I am Very Short. In the first photo, I'm standing by my new friend, Jen. Jen is wearing flats; I am wearing boots with three inch heels. Yes, like I said: I'm short. I hope that we can all still be friends, now that you know my awful secret *sniff* (edit: err, hang on. You CAN'T see that because I got cut out of the first photo, lol, oops!)

One thing I have to mention is the incredibly nice thing that my parents did for us. In addition to keeping our dogs for us, they DROVE ALL THE WAY TO ATLANTA TO GIVE THEM BACK. The original plan had been for us to meet up halfway between our two cities, but my parents knew that we were going to be tired and ventured into Atlanta at 3:30 in the afternoon! Those of you familiar with Atlanta traffic will know that it would only be for love that one would venture anywhere inside the perimeter at that time of day! Thank you, parents!

So, that concludes the tale of the Big Ol' Medieval Wedding. I hope that you enjoyed it :)
Kimberley

Monday, November 12, 2007

Veterans' Day

I just wanted to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to our veterans, from the "latest generation, to the greatest generation", as the History Channel says. It is difficult to comprehend the sacrifices that men and women of the armed forces have made, but Veterans' Day is the perfect opportunity to make the effort.

No matter what your political stance, I think that we can all agree that our soliders, whether active duty, retired, and everything in between, deserve our respect. They also deserve the best support that our country can give them. The situation at Walter Reed Army Medical Center was appalling, not only for the terrible physical conditions of the buildings and the nightmare of administrative red tape, but for the backlash that followed. Changes have been made, thanks to the huge public outcry that followed the publication in February 2007 of the Washington Post story, but wounded veterans still face immense struggles.

There are many organizations out there that are dedicated to helping recovering veterans and their families; here's one that I think is great: The Wounded Warrior Project. Its mission is to "assist those men and women of our armed forces who have been severely injured during the conflicts in Iraq , Afghanistan , and other locations around the world. Many of the injuries are traumatic amputations, gunshot wounds, burns and blast injuries that will retire these brave warriors from military service." On their website, the WWP offers lots of ways to assist in this mission.
Edit: a friend at work just told me about this program and I think it's awesome! When you're making out your Christmas cards this year (and I know you, blogging community, you LOVE sending Christmas cards!), please send at least one to:

A Recovering American soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue,NW
Washington,D.C. 20307-5001

On a personal note, happy Veterans' Day, Daddy. Thank you for all that you gave in service to your country.

dadkorea1958

Dad in Korea, 1958


Monday, November 5, 2007

Remember this?

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Those of you who are new to Tallulah House (or those who simply have lives and can't remember every single detail about me!) may not know about this dress. I am performing a wedding this weekend and it has a medieval theme. The bride and groom are very into renaissance faires and when I asked the (very UNbridezilla-ish) bride what she wanted me to wear, she said that she didn't expect me to buy anything but if I had anything medievalish (a not very unrealistic expectation, actually) that I could wear that. Well, as it turns out I had nothing that I thought was quite the thing, and found this on Ebay.

Here's where it all went wrong.

I ordered a medium which, according to the measurements, should have been the correct choice. Imagine my befuddlement and horror when I received it and realized that I could fit two of me in it. Grrrr. Because each dress is made upon order, I knew that, even if the seller let me return it, that I wouldn't have time to get a new one before the wedding. So, though it PAINED me to spend even more money, I took it to a tailor. Her reaction when she saw me in it the first time was unrestrained giggling, but also assurances that she could fix it. Well, I picked it up today and, boy howdy, did she ever! It is amazing! She basically had to rebuild the dress, taking the sleeves off of the bodice and running a seam down the front of the bodice, taking in the sides, moving the neckline up, etc. I am so pleased, and I think that the bride will be also :)

Plus, I now have my outfit for Halloween for next year :) (It's all about Halloween, folks, in case you haven't figured it out). Chris really wants to do a Celtic Samhain celebration with traditional elements, and I figure in this dress, with a harvest wreath around my head, that I'll definitely fit the spirit, if not the letter, of such a celebration ;)

Wish me luck! I so want to do a really good job for this couple.
Kimberley

Thursday, November 1, 2007

The party's over...

*sniff*
It's time to bid Halloween a fond farewell until next year. It always makes me a little sad to pack these festive things away. It rarely feels like a chore, though, because I've spent years collecting my Halloween goodies and almost every one has a story. So, packing and unpacking them is always done in a feel-good, sentimental haze. I know, I know, this is usually how people describe Christmas ornaments, but for me it's all about Halloween, baby.

(I will confess, though, that I'm looking forward to dressing Tallulah up for Christmas-- the smell of fresh greenery is one of my favourites, and when you throw in mulberry candles, well, it's a pretty good deal all around).

I want to say a HUGE "thank you" to everyone who stopped by for the party and left a comment. Only another writer (of any sort) can truly understand how feedback is as necessary as oxygen. We're sort of like faeries: we only truly exist if you believe in us ;)

Some housekeeping details:
Several guests asked about my sorceress towels; they are from Department 56's "Halloween Krinkles" line, which is designed by Patience Brewster. I found them on Ebay.


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Cassie of Mockingbird Hill wanted to know who made "The Bewitching Hour".

Bewitching Hour 2

I *think* that it was Dee Foust. I really like her stuff, as well as Nicole Sayre's. I'm pretty sure that Nicole Sayre made "The Queen of the Harvest":

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Again, thanks to all who stopped and left a comment. I had so much fun visiting all of your blogs and sharing Halloween with you :) Let's do it again next year!
Kimberley