Cristina Jill

Late Ripeness “Not soon, as late as the approach of my ninetieth year, I felt a door opening in me and I entered the clarity of early morning. One after another my former lives were departing, like ships, together with their sorrow. And the countries, cities, gardens, the bays of seas assigned to my brush came closer, ready now to be described better than they were before. I was not separated from people, grief and pity joined us. We forget - I kept saying - that we are all children of the King. For where we come from there is no division into Yes and No, into is, was, and will be. We were miserable, we used no more than a hundredth part of the gift we received for our long journey. Moments from yesterday and from centuries ago - a sword blow, the painting of eyelashes before a mirror of polished metal, a lethal musket shot, a caravel staving its hull against a reef - they dwell in us, waiting for a fulfillment. I knew, always, that I would be a worker in the vineyard, as are all men and women living at the same time, whether they are aware of it or not.” ~ Czeslaw Milosz ~ My name is Cristina Jill Mosqueda Cooper. I pause looking at my name, and think about how much there is to explain with those words alone. My mother gave me a name to use in each of my worlds, Cristina for my Cuban life, and Jill for the American life. I suppose it is there were the paradoxes of my life began. I have been many things in my life, from a housekeeper to a high school history teacher; but no matter what else I did, I was always a writer. I love words and the power and passion which they can be used to create. I love reading words, writing words, speaking words, and listening to words – especially words from people that I love and respect. It is my desire to live life on my own terms, and willingly or not, I have paid the price demanded, by the world, to be myself. I share my life with Kate, with whom I have lived for the last 23 years, and Miss Merry Margaret, our little mutt who really is the world’s most perfect dog. I also travel, cook, garden, sculpt, and make large messes doing all of the above. Welcome to my world, that is all for now.

Web Site: http://thatisallfornow.com


Art

February 1, 2013

To love a painting is to feel that this presence is… not an object but a voice. ~ Andre Malraux ~ An Interlude by William Sergeant Kendall The artist has painted his wife, Margaret, who looks away from him, along with one of his three daughters.  Margaret holds a book, which she is attempting...
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Food

January 30, 2013

My Mother’s Chicken and Rice     Mother frying plantains at Roxanne and David’s — Chicken and Rice screams out of for fried bananas! My Mother loved to entertain. We would often, especially as we got older, joke about the people she would invite to her dinner parties, people who in our mind had...
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In the Wild!

January 25, 2013

Schotzie      My Mother and her dog, Schotzie with a picture of my Mother and Father imposed on the bottom. My Mother loved animals, all animals and all of nature — from a beautiful beach to a scurrying chipmunk.  Growing up, whenever possible, we would have a dog, but she also fed the...
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From the Editor

January 4, 2013

Mother “Once more a remnant of the kingdom of Judah     will take root below and bear fruit above.” Isaiah 37: 31 Mother at a coffe plantation in Costa Rica  “I did everything I wanted to do.  I have no regrets.” ~ Reverend Stella Lucille Cooper Mosqueda ~ On December 31, 2012, at 7:15,...
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In Memoriam

January 2, 2013

  Reverend Stella Lucille Cooper Mosqueda The Reverend Stella Lucille Cooper Mosqueda, my Mother, passed away on December 31, 2012, surrounded by her family, in Georgetown, Massachusetts.  Stella was born in Franklin Furnace, Ohio, on March 9, 1931, she traveled to Cuba, on her 21st birthday, where she met and married her husband, the...
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Education

January 2, 2013

“Well I always said it is not what you know, it is what you can prove you know.  You have to have that piece of paper.” ~ Reverend Stella Lucille Cooper Mosqueda ~ Bachelor of Theology License to Preach Chaplain Degree in Nursing Ordination Exhorter A few of her accomplishments, by any means not...
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January 1, 2013

Though I have written a lot about my Mother, on these pages, there is still more for me to say, until then a few links below, if you are so inclined. http://thatisallfornow.com/?page_id=1307 (Scroll down to the last article.) http://thatisallfornow.com/?p=2582 http://thatisallfornow.com/?p=2320 http://thatisallfornow.com/?p=1579 http://thatisallfornow.com/?page_id=1491
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In the Garden

January 1, 2013

Her Favorite Flowers ; ;
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In the Wild!

December 20, 2012

  The Tame and the Wild! Spike is both tame and wild!  He is my sister’s cat; I realize I should say that he belongs to both my sister and her husband, but that would simply be untrue – Spike belongs to Joy, and he brings her nothing but joy.  He is one of...
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Food

December 20, 2012

Black Beans     The first time I made black beans, they were a disaster. I added salt, before they were soft – they never got soft.   It was my first dinner party, in my first apartment, and I had invited three guests, who were all Cuban.   Fortunately, I had also made lasagna, but...
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Art


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