The Night Sky

I was laying in the hammock the other night, just staring up at the sky. I love the stars. Strange that things so far away can touch me in a way that nothing near can. They make me feel small but in a very comforting, no-your-life-is-not-the-center-of-the-universe and this-too (whatever it is)- shall-pass kind of way. It's a very comforting small.

I'm heading up north in a week and one of the things I'm looking forward to most is lying on the rocks in the dark as I listen to the waves and stare at the stars.

"Without a wish, without a will, I stood upon that silent hill and stared into the sky until
my eyes were blinded with stars, and still I stared into the sky."
Ralph Hodgson

"We had the sky up there, all speckled with stars, and we used to lay on our backs and look up at them, and discuss about whether they was made or only just happened."
Mark Twain

"If the stars should appear but one night every thousand years how man would marvel and stare."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

"For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream."
Vincent Van Gogh

"Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light. I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night."
Sarah Williams

"If people sat outside and looked at the stars each night, I'll bet they'd live a lot differently."
Bill Waterson (ah, Bill Waterson :) )

Water + Laptop = Very Bad

So this should be a no brainer, I know. But still, there I was typing away on my laptop on the coffeetable with a glass of water next to me. One minute all was well and the next, there was water everywhere and my laptop was, well, kaput. So, I'm updating this now via my roommate's computer. Thank goodness for roommates. And it seems now I'm in the market for a new laptop. If you have rave reviews about your new ibook or dell or whatever and you think I should definitely buy one, let me know. Suggestions are good.

The New Place

It's great. Maybe that's all there is to say. I have a blue room with a window that looks onto the park. There are flowers at the curb and raspberries in the backyard. We sat out late last night on the back porch with wine and chocolate, while the girls chopped zuchini and I put my great new sunflowers in a vase. And I thought, "This is the life." Beautiful Minnesota night with good friends. And with the backdrop of sadness that's surrounded Minnesota these past few days, those simple pleasures seem all the sweeter.