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

December 8, 2013

Mandela     I remember reading Part of My Soul Went with Him, by Winnie Mandela, and while not agreeing with their socialist idea’s, I certainly supported their work for freedom of speech and the right to assemble, and shared their disdain for apartheid. Walking through the streets of London, in 1986, I stopped...
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Food

November 27, 2013

Fried Cabbage with Apples and Bacon Are you still looking for a quick side dish to bring to dinner tomorrow or something for Sunday supper?  I love fried cabbage and serve it often, as it goes with almost anything from chicken and dumplings to baked ham to roasted turkey; and it is one of...
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In the Wild!

November 21, 2013

Our Turkeys Viewing them from the Florida Room I love nature, and In the Wild! is one of my favorite columns to publish.  Thus, I am rather diligent about my stock pile of photographs, which capture the joy I feel when I interact with the animal kingdom.  The last few years, I have managed...
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Art

November 20, 2013

To love a painting is to feel that this presence is… not an object but a voice. ~ Andre Malraux ~ Dinner Table By Henri Matisse Happy Thanksgiving! “Art can never exist without naked beauty displace.” ~ William Blake~  
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Public Square

November 10, 2013

Remembering our Veterans I remember my first trip to Washington D.C., as a child, as well as my first as an adult, and the last.  For over ten years now, I have been fortunate enough to visit my nation’s capital, at least once a year; and without exception, every trip brings new discoveries and...
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Happy Hanukkah!

November 9, 2013

Happy Hanukkah! “We light these lights for the miracles and the wonders, for the redemption and the battles that you made for our forefathers, in those days at this season, through your holy priests. During all eight days of Hanukkah these lights are sacred, and we are not permitted to make ordinary use of...
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From the Editor

November 9, 2013

It is Going to be Okay Our new house has what I think of as ridiculously high taxes, apparently we are in a great school system, but there is no trash pick-up!  Coming from South Florida, where the trash is picked up, at your house, twice a week, including bulk pick-up, which will literally...
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In the Garden

November 7, 2013

Fall Foliage     There are few displays, in nature, with greater pageantry than fall foliage, in New England.  The souls which venture north, to take in the feast of bright and bold color, are called leaf peepers!     Autumn has always been my favorite time of the year, though I dread cold and...
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Poet’s Corner

November 7, 2013

Is This What We Thought Grown Up Would Be?   Did we expect our life to look like this? Were you going to go off to the office, why I stayed home baking cookies and plotting the overthrow of our HOA? Were we going to have two cars parked in the garage, and a...
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A View from the Road

November 4, 2013

Pets Must be on Leash My affection for “rest areas” along the American highways is well documented, on these pages.  This particular rest area, in Wyoming, teamed with birds, bunnies, and squirrels.  As I got out, to walk around and stretch my legs, I happened about this very brazen Robin, who absolutely commanded a...
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Art


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