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

September 26, 2017

Peanut Butter Cookies     For years, I have given the Betty Crocker Cookbook to new cooks – it was watching Kate learn to make bread, with that book, that convinced me it is a good book for beginning chiefs, to have on their shelves and more importantly, in their kitchen.  My copy is...
Read More »

Free this Month

September 23, 2017

National Public Lands Day     You can still enjoy this September the fee free park visit day, on the 30th ! Please go to the website to plan your free activities; this is a great way to go to a  park that you have wanted to visit, but were either held back by the entrance fee...
Read More »

The Dialogue

September 22, 2017

How Can I Say Thank You Marigold?     This week, my Uncle Gary, suggested that I should become friends with Marigold. It was a fine suggestion, but thankfully Marigold is already in my life.  I inherited the privilege of her friendship, through my Mother. A few days ago, I received a private message,...
Read More »

Holiday’s

September 20, 2017

Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur   “Le shanah tovah tikateiv veteichateim,” Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, begins at sundown on September 20 and ends at nightfall on September 22, in 2017.  The New Year is ushered in according to Leviticus 23, with the sounding of the Shophar, calling Jews to seek God’s forgiveness,...
Read More »

In Nature

September 18, 2017

Tobacco     There are moments when I am feeling bolder than others, on this particular day, I spotted these men hard at work, in a tobacco field, and decided to stop and ask them if I might photograph them and their labor – they all kindly said yes.     I am sure...
Read More »

In the Wild!

September 16, 2017

A Bald Eagle! Photographed by Lois Robertshaw         “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” ~ Isaiah 40:31 ~ This morning, our neighbors called to...
Read More »

Art

September 14, 2017

To love a painting is to feel that this presence is… not an object but a voice. ~ Andre Malraux ~      Woman Bathing Her Feet in a Brook by Camille Pissarro I have not featured much of Pissarro’s work; I am not sure why, as he is an artist, whom I truly...
Read More »

Remembering Nine-Eleven

September 10, 2017

The Tear Drop Memorial to September 11th Bayonne New Jersey     I cannot say that we made a conscious decision to visit 9-11 Memorials; but what I will say is that I do not regret a single detour or stop made, at any of these locations, and that I could not more highly...
Read More »

Favorite Books

September 7, 2017

Sitting By My Bedside     “One sure window into a person’s soul is his reading list.” ~ Mary B. W. Tabor ~ What are you reading?  Are you looking for your next great read?  Here is a look at what is sitting by my bedside, and which I am pleased to recommend. Let...
Read More »

Free this Month

September 1, 2017

National Public Lands Day And Smithsonian Free Museum Day     September offers the opportunity to take part in the free museum day, this year on September 23rd, sponsored by the Smithsonian, and the fee free park visit day, which in the past, had fallen on the same day as museum free day, at...
Read More »



Art


Copy Protected by Chetan's WP-Copyprotect.