Oma Linda's Hues of Oz

Ah...The Wizard of Oz. One of my all time favorite reads, in all of it's incarnations. When I first read of the Hues theme the first color that popped in was Ruby. Those Ruby Slippers, which, as those who have read the book know full well, are actually Silver Slippers.

Which lead to my second thought: other than the iconic Ruby Slippers, an image forever linked with Oz are those Flying Monkeys. Who, by the way, Oma Linda, have a bum rap. They may look frightening, but they aren't scary. They are, instead, controlled by a cap. Whoever possesses the cap, controls the monkeys. Since the Wicked Witch has the cap, they reflect her meanness. Once Dorothy had the cap, she nicely returned it to the head Flying Monkey & they went on their way.

So..here is my take on these iconic images of Ruby & Flying Monkey:

Please note the pleasant expression, waiting to hear from You Who Possesses The Cap. Also, please note that the reason these Monkeys developed wings is because they have two left feet!

Also, along with Ruby that was Silver, Flying Monkeys who weren't scary, there is the Emerald City which wasn't Emerald. Well, no more than any other city (to paraphrase the Wizard of Oz). The City itself is just a City with Emerald Walls surrounding it. Every one who enters it is required to wear green eyeglasses before passing through the walls. Hence, 'Emerald City'. Just one more of the Wizard's Humbugs. 

Which thought lead to this:    Silver 'neath ruby,
                                                Green glasses mask ordinary
                                                Shifting eyesight/thought.
                                               

Music! for All Hallow's Grimm

Today, Magaly's  question is "Share the title of a song that becomes your gentle light when darkness threatens to blind, and turns into your soothing darkness when the light promises to burn."  

Turns out, I have a few! Here they are: 
    Nummer eins is always   Dvorak: Symphony #9 'From the New World'
This is closely followed by Carl Orff: Carmina Burana , 'In the Hall of the Mountain King' (Peer Gynt) , Respighi 'Pines of Rome' , Smetana's Ma Vlast (part one) , Smetana's Ma Vlast (part 2) , Corvus Corax 'Fortuna' ,
& Corvus Corax 'Ragnarok' .

When I need a quick laugh, I turn to one of my newest happy songs: That's the way I like it .  The clip is long because context is important! :)

Now, when the brightness burns to much, anything by Rammstein (played esp. loud) gets my shadows laughing & dancing!








     

What sweetness blooms in my darkness

*waves hello furiously* to the wonderful participants in Magaly's All Hallows Grim 2013 ! 

While some may insist on the dark/scary & light/good, I find that light & dark complement each other with their presence. Candle flame burns brighter against darkness while the moon's glow throws velvet darkness into sharp context.  That sentence comes close to the feelings in my heart (that also, life sustaining heartbeats work best within the comforting folds of a darkened interior).  Since words do not always match my thoughts, I present what represents the sweetness I find within my darkness.

This little felt pot is for my sweet Darkness, comfortably held within my heart. (Sorry about the photo quality...lighting really sucks in this apartment!)

Lift the lid, &, most especially during All Hallow's, I find the three candles representing Guidance (from the seasons, from the winds, from the ancestors...black, white, red).

Guidance is followed neatly by Pumpkin, for prosperity of mind & body.

Prosperity is always sweetened when Company is there to enjoy it. (Sugar skull decorations are all well & good, but sometimes there floats in a more Masculine air, which prefers simplicity in adornment)

Wisdom flies out, to join the company. There are times where Guidance & Company champion themselves far too loudly, & Wisdom is there to help settle matters ;)

Last, but never least, Bat brings good luck! Good luck for this year coming & bestest luck for all who welcome him with open arms!

This, then is the Sweetness within my Darkness. :)

*waves hello*

Back for Magaly's Hallow's Grim mid-evening. Figure it will be that long before I get this 'shortcut' that has been installed on this laptop to work for me properly.....

That really big place up North

that American media seems to ignore: Canada.  There are big cities ( Toronto), along with the woods & forests.  Toronto, Vancouver, & Calgary continue to rank high on livability . 

British Columbia even has a Sasquatch or two! Surely this would attract American audiences. But, no, only the Calgary floods got a bit of national notice (while they were happening, rebuilding & recovery seems too boring for we southerners).

Quite a few TV shows have been, & are, filmed in Canada, including Defiance & Siberia .  Caillou , Little Bear , & Rolie Polie Olie  are some of the educational cartoons produced in Canada. Granted, the jury may be out on how educational a show about a whiny spoiled bald headed child really is.

I hope to visit Canada soon. If not this year, then next. I have tried to finish this post properly for the past 4 days, but my concentration isn't up to par. There is a medical issue (not That Serious, but serious enough) I need to take care of first. So I'm taking time off to deal with it. Back mid-October!

Have you ever wondered what stars sound like, & why?

This is so beyond cool: star songs

Missed Tues. posting as I was ill. Feeling better, now. Going in to fill out a job application tomorrow morning.  Nothing exciting, but it would be the first time I've worked outside of the house in 6 yrs.  It would be a start.

Today...

...we had a nice rain, but no thunder.

I burnt the top of my left foot baking Lemon Squares .  This recipe turned out rather nice once I cut the butter from 1 1/2 cups butter to 1 cup butter. The lemon curd was nice as well.

The shrug I am knitting has left a little under the skin boil on a spot on a finger which doesn't even feel the pressure of needle or yarn.  Liking the drape of it so far.

I won two books from Red Tash  , who is having a FB book giveaways.  Yeas!

August is almost over. School's about to start, & an interesting  article on year round schooling has popped up. I rather like the idea of scheduling 9 on/3 off.  Given how urban our population is, moving away from the agrarian school calendar makes sense. Even our rural population is, mostly, not beholden to farming scheduling.

Also, Yuletide is on it's way. This is such a cute kitty pattern, it might find it's way under the tree.

Other than drooling through Lion Brand Yarn's NYC shop, I have one more reason for braving the toxic fumes of that city:  underground station :)

One more sign that the summer/Autumn switch is moving in: I am so tired, all I want to do (every day) is nap! Every year the seasonal switch just wipes me out for the first two weeks.  No motivation to do a damn thing.