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


Public Square

January 18, 2018

President George W. Bush Library One of my warmest memories, about President George W. Bush, does not involve him, but rather my neighbor Phil. I had volunteered for both of the President’s campaigns, a fact that could not be lost on any of my mostly Democrat neighbors, as my yard was filled with signs!...
Read More »

In the Wild!

January 15, 2018

The Ubiquitous Egret     In Florida, egrets appear to be everywhere, including my back yard; thus I think we sometimes overlook their beauty and splendor.   I spotted this guy hanging out on the west coast of the state, enjoying one of his many habitats, and thought about how fortunate I was to...
Read More »

Perfect Post Cards

January 15, 2018

Remembering Martin Luther King Jr.   “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” ~ Martin Luther King Jr. ~ This year, Martin Luther King Jr. Day actually falls on his birthday, January 15; the federal holiday is observed on the third Monday of January. I share with...
Read More »

Poet’s Corner

January 15, 2018

My Words and I   Sometimes, my words and I stand alone. Never really meaning to be a part of anything or anyone – I am not an us, a we or them and my words are neither poetry, nor prose or verse. We simply are – we exist for ourselves, alone, unencumbered by...
Read More »

The Dialogue

January 12, 2018

Happy New Year     There are very few things that my Mother managed to hold on to, in her life, for more than fifty years; thus this post card is of special intrigue to me and perhaps you. I imagine that the reason my Mother kept the card was because of the vista,...
Read More »

A View from the Road

January 10, 2018

Public Art at a Missouri Rest Stop     We pulled into a rest stop, in Missouri, and were greeted by this clever little man.     We are all more aware of things that go wrong than what goes right; an untidy rest stop can sour not only the moment, but our overview of...
Read More »

Art

January 6, 2018

To love a painting is to feel that this presence is… not an object but a voice. ~ Andre Malraux ~      Parakeets and Gold Fish Bowl by Louis Comfort Tiffany     “Tiffany created this window specifically for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, claiming that it ‘illustrates most perfectly the...
Read More »

Food

January 3, 2018

My Empanada Gallega     I will admit a slight apprehension when it comes to baking with yeast; I hate the idea of wasting food and as I do not work enough with yeast based doughs, the fear of creating an inedible offering has prevented me, in the past, from venturing into recipes that...
Read More »

From the Editor

January 1, 2018

Promise     Definition of promise: “a declaration that one will do or refrain from doing something specified” ~Merriam Webster ~ Recently, I found this promise box, slightly visible, inside of a mixed bag of goodies, at a second hand store; while not interested in the other things I could see, in the bag,...
Read More »

Holiday’s

January 1, 2018

Happy New Year     Wishing you and yours a most Happy of New Years! May 2018 bring you peace, joy, and love.   “Auld Lang Syne” By Robert Burns Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind? Should old acquaintance be forgot, and old lang syne? For auld lang syne, my...
Read More »



Art


Copy Protected by Chetan's WP-Copyprotect.