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


Food

February 4, 2012

Potato Plus Soup   This is the perfect cold winter night soup. It can be made with plain water, but it is much better with ham or pork stock, and still good with chicken stock.  If you are using water, you may need a bit of extra seasoning.  As with everything, taste and taste...
Read More »

In the Garden

February 3, 2012

Crocus   The first hope of spring Grown from corms, in a variety of colors, crocus are small, delicate flowers, which give us the hope that a long winter is coming to an end.   It is from the crocus that we harvest saffron.
Read More »

Remembering Nine-Eleven Public Square

February 1, 2012

Pentagon 9-11 “We claim this ground in remembrance of the events of September 11, 2001.   To honor the 184 people whose lives were lost, their families, and all who sacrifice that we may live in freedom.   We will never forget.”   We first visited the Pentagon Memorial, for those killed on 9-11...
Read More »

Food

January 30, 2012

Tommy’s     I was a senior in high school, and had gone to one of those horrible college interviews, with Angie Martinez, in Los Angeles. We were hungry, and she asked me if I wanted to go to Tommy’s?  I had to confess I had never been to Tommy’s.  She was a woman...
Read More »

In the Wild!

January 27, 2012

An Iguana Has Come to Call     Look who is trying to come into the house? Yes, that is an iguana!  I am not sure why he would want to come into the house, but he indeed made his way from the yard, on to the porch, and then to the door.  ...
Read More »

Public Square

January 22, 2012

  Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Washington D. C. “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” “Out of a mountain of despair, a stone of hope.” We were very excited to see the latest edition to the National Mall, which was dedicated in October of 2011.  The...
Read More »

In the Garden

January 17, 2012

Staghorn Ferns There are plants that I love without reason – the Staghorn Fern is such a plant.  Perhaps it is the name, or the way it attaches itself to a surface, which it will eventually engulf, or that eats bananas!  (Yes, the best way to feed this fern is to place a banana...
Read More »

Art

January 16, 2012

 To love a painting is to feel that this presence is… not an object but a voice. ~ Andre Malraux ~ Red Pepper Time by Oscar Edmond Berninghaus A St. Louis, Missouri transplant to Taos, New Mexico, like so many artists after him who fell in love with the light of area and the...
Read More »

A View from the Road

January 3, 2012

  Cat in the Window   Do you see the cat in the window?  Walking in Lyman, Maine, I happened to look up and see Nancy’s cat in the window – picture perfect!
Read More »

A View from the Road

December 20, 2011

  Nubble Light House   Nubble Light House erected in 1897, in Cape Neddick, Maine.  This is one of my favorite light houses.  After my family moved to Maine, we came here on the Friday, after Thanksgiving to await Santa’s arrival and the lighting of the light house!  It is a lovely spot, in...
Read More »



Art


Copy Protected by Chetan's WP-Copyprotect.