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 13, 2016

Napkins     I prefer cloth napkins; I have a drawer filled with them and use them for more than special occasions, but not as often as I would like.   Somehow I find that a fine napkin, like a piece of china or good silverware make my meal just a bit better — perhaps...
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Perfect Post Cards – Picture and a Thousand Words

February 12, 2016

  The Justices of the Supreme Court     Back when a woman sitting on the Supreme Court, of the United States of America was a novelty, I made my way to Washington D.C. and into the building which houses the Court, trying to touch a bit of history. The Court, at the time...
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From the Editor

February 11, 2016

Forgiveness I received a private message, on social media which said: “Don’t you think?” with a link to a meme proclaiming: “Lord, may we be a people who forgive one another!” and it quoted a verse in Ephesians.   I clicked on the link, and went back to the note, and wrote: “Yes, of course.”...
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Poet’s Corner

February 11, 2016

A Lasting Love   I am always quite enthralled when I see those couples, sitting on the beach or walking hand in hand with weathered faces, grayed hair, and perhaps a beat skipped, in their walk, who nevertheless seem enthralled in each other’s company.   I stare intently, while trying to be discrete, when...
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Perfect Post Cards – Picture and a Thousand Words

January 31, 2016

South Padre Island       I am indeed longing for warmer weather, dreaming about laying on a hot beach, basking in the sun, and forgetting bone chilling winds, drenched with frozen precipitation, but that is not why I am sharing this picture with you, well not entirely.  Lately, I have been thinking of...
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In the Garden

January 30, 2016

The Rose Talked Back     “The man sweeping the synagogue paused for a moment. He looked at the flowers lying about in disorder.  ‘What waste!’ he said to himself.  Those roses had adorned the pulpit at wedding an hour before.  Now all was over and they were waiting to be discarded. The attendant...
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Favorite Books

January 26, 2016

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....
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From the Editor

January 19, 2016

Missing Youth (Me, living in Maywood California, when I attended Nimitz Jr. High, with Curly, our dog) Today, I find myself sitting at a desk, in a hotel room, on the sixth floor looking down at a snow covered park, surrounded by wide boulevards and buildings that are over a hundred years old. I...
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From the Editor

January 18, 2016

Free At Last     “This third I will put into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name   and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are my people, and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’” ~ Zechariah 13:9 ~ I found myself sitting in...
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In the Wild!

January 14, 2016

Coming In Out Of The Rain     Sitting in the Florida room, on a rainy day, we opened a glass sliding door, to let the cool, fresh, air in, and much to our delight, the blue jay’s decided to come in for a quick bite to eat!     They found a small...
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Art


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