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


A View from the Road

April 27, 2011

  A Chill Chicago View   Rainy, windy, and overcast – nevertheless, a perfect View from the Road. Take a look at Lake Michigan and Chicago Skyline glistening in all of its beauty.
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Public Square

April 17, 2011

In A Wild Wyoming Rest Area I love rest stops, not only do they provide a necessary service; but they can also offer an interesting encounter with others on the road, a place to stretch your legs, eat your packed lunch, and if you are lucky, they can be a wonderful showcase for their...
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In the Garden

April 16, 2011

Wild Flowers       I love fields of wild flowers   Do cattails qualify as wild flowers?     Probably not, but they nonetheless make a great background for true wild flowers.   Queen Ann’s Lace — so perfectly named There is something so enthralling about flowers planted by God   Do you...
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In the Wild!

April 11, 2011

    Nour’s Geese Not Ducks at All Several months ago, we sat in the Florida room chatting, when we were drawn outside by a new sound.  The ducks, which have the run of the park, lake, and our collective yards, were in a bit of a huff.  We walked outside, and much to...
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Favorite Books

April 9, 2011
Favorite Books

The Jews of Spain A History of the Sephardic Experience By Jane S. Gerber “As apparent to these observers and indeed all visitors, a brilliant era was dawning in Spain.  Forever afterward, the tenth and eleventh centuries would be remembered by Jews as the nation’s ‘Golden Age,’ an epoch in which they enjoyed unusual...
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Art

April 8, 2011

 To love a painting is to feel that this presence is… not an object but a voice. ~ Andre Malraux ~ The Seine at Asnieres by Pierre-Auguste Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir, (1841-1919), was a French painter, and contemporary of Monet, with whom he worked, to birth the Impressionist movement, in art. Renoir was not only...
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From the Editor

April 6, 2011
From the Editor

  “Well, after a while there is nothing left to fight about.” I opened the third drawer of my seven day dresser, where I keep my hair brush and the like and which I have opened a thousand times in the last ten years; but saw something different, it was as if I was...
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Poet’s Corner

April 6, 2011
Poet’s Corner

Subject: Unworthy of a Single Thought The words were cold, cruel, and bitter; nevertheless I read them again, I had to. One more time, from the beginning – I had to see beyond what they said and focus on what they meant. There was comfort to be had in their hatred. I would never...
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Food

March 24, 2011

Carrot Cake This has become one of my signature cakes.  I have had more people request this cake, than any other sweet, that I make.  I first made this for my Mother, as her birthday cake, and if we are together, for her birthday, I still make it – something to bear in mind,...
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Art

March 23, 2011

 To love a painting is to feel that this presence is… not an object but a voice. ~ Andre Malraux ~   The Shepherd’s Song by Pierre Puvis De Chavannes I am not usually drawn to such muted tones or the stillness of the subjects, in this painting, but I find this work rather...
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Art


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