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


The ThatIsAllForNow Family Photo Album

December 19, 2012

Welcome to our Family Photo Album.  As we progress, below you will find photographs of many of the people which have been included in these pages, over the years.  I hope that you will enjoy further getting to know the ThatIsAllForNow family of friends.     The Mosqueda Family     Kate at the...
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Public Square

December 19, 2012

Jekyll Island         I remember being stopped, at a red light, with my window rolled down, and listening to a subtle clanking, which caused me to look around, until I found its source; it was a shutter being blown by a gentle wind, back and forth. I had arrived in Brunswick,...
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The Nativity

December 17, 2012

A New to me Nativity   Last year, we drove from New England to Ohio, for Thanksgiving.  Along the way, we made a detour, in upstate New York, to visit the Moosewood Restaurant, whose mushroom pâté, I use to make for Lia.   While we did not find the pâté we did find a wonderful...
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Art

December 12, 2012

 To love a painting is to feel that this presence is… not an object but a voice. ~ Andre Malraux ~   Garden at Vaucresson by Edouard Vuillard   It is almost as if the woman, in this painting, were inconsequential, a mere afterthought to the flowers, which dominate the canvas, and draw your...
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A View from the Road

December 12, 2012

A View from A Christmas Story     As promised, this month a lighter View From the Road.  The house from the film A Christmas Story (1983) is located at 3159 West 11th Street, in Cleveland Ohio, blocks from where I once lived, and where I went to Clark Avenue School.  Unlike most of...
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Christmas Village!

December 12, 2012

Village 1987 During my spring cleaning, I found this photograph, of the original Christmas Village.  You may remember that a couple of years ago, I posted a pictorial of what is undoubtedly my favorite part of the holiday season.  This year, the Village has many new features, which I plan to share with you;...
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In the Garden

December 2, 2012

Joy’s Garden in the Winter       It will soon be Christmas, but the days are dark and sorrow hangs in the air, as my Mother has been unwell.  Nevertheless, this is the time of year when we celebrate the birth of Christ, thus the garden sparkles in anticipation of hope.    ...
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Happy Hanukkah!

December 2, 2012

Happy Hanukkah! “We light these lights for the miracles and the wonders, for the redemption and the battles that you made for our forefathers, in those days at this season, through your holy priests. During all eight days of Hanukkah these lights are sacred, and we are not permitted to make ordinary use of...
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Poet’s Corner

December 2, 2012

  What is Left Unsaid?   Lately, I think a lot about what is left unsaid. In a crowded room, where others might be at a loss for words, you and I always seem to speak. Yet here in the dark, with no one else around, silence suddenly permeates the air, like it never...
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From the Editor

December 1, 2012

Strike “BREAKING: Judge approves Hostess bonus payout plan; 19 Hostess senior executives in line for up to $1.8M in bonuses” CNBC On a chilly November day, Kate and I got out of our car, and with a bit of trepidation, at least on my part, approached a living line in the sand.  The men...
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Art


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