Happy Bloomsday! I've never read Ulysses. It sounds like the kind of thing I might like if I could get over the threshold; alas, it seems a REALLY TALL threshold. (at least it is in my head, where, let's be honest, things are not always actual size in either direction.) Today I've run across various quotations in various places around the internet and in print and I think that maybe the best way for me to read it would be on random scraps of paper here and there. I could appreciate the language, ponder it for a while, and then keep my eyes open for whatever section I came across next without being overwhelmed by sheer volume. (I need to subscribe to a service where someone sneaks around ahead of wherever I might go and leaves small sections of Ulysses for me to find. That would be so cool!) Regardless of thresholds and controversial classics, I am especially in favor of whimsical holidays and I love the idea that people all over the world are celebrating a novel written 100 years ago. Well done, party people! Anyway, I quite enjoyed Answergirl's post on Ulysses, and am intrigued by the notion of trying it as an audiobook. Is it cheating if you haven't read it already? Does it matter?
The sun is shining here in Portland for the moment. I wish it would stay clear until the solstice so I could really appreciate the longest day (right now it stays light until 9:30 or so), but it will be cloudy by then and I'll just have to imagine the sun above the gloom, I suppose. At any rate, here's some photo evidence of THE SUN and its triumphant (however brief) return to parts northwest.
New table for the little brick patio! Hooray! It was a bargain IKEA find. Those flowers right there (you see the white ones?) are on the mock orange tree which is blooming its fool head off right now. It smells so wonderful! As you might expect, it's reminiscent of orange blossoms, but being mock I don't think they're quite as sweet. (one of my fondest Florida memories is riding in the car with the windows down during orange blossom season.)
Here are some roses that grow over an arbor. I have done a really poor job keeping them trained onto the arbor, so now it's a rose monster. An aggressive pink pre-raphaelite rose monster. (Rose Monsters of this variety are more bluster and blossom than bite, thankfully.)
You may recall these space alien/cooked red cabbage peonies from way back when in march. (you may not, which is why I have helpfully provided the photo again.) Well, I promised that I would show a picture when they bloomed, and the time has come! These are from a garden I pass on my way to the park.
and more, because I can't not:
and now, because it's still light for a little bit, I'm going to go cut a peony bouquet as big as my car. (it's a small car.) They won't last outside in another day of warm temps, so if I want to enjoy them longer, now's my chance.
"and yes I said yes I will Yes."
The sun is shining here in Portland for the moment. I wish it would stay clear until the solstice so I could really appreciate the longest day (right now it stays light until 9:30 or so), but it will be cloudy by then and I'll just have to imagine the sun above the gloom, I suppose. At any rate, here's some photo evidence of THE SUN and its triumphant (however brief) return to parts northwest.
New table for the little brick patio! Hooray! It was a bargain IKEA find. Those flowers right there (you see the white ones?) are on the mock orange tree which is blooming its fool head off right now. It smells so wonderful! As you might expect, it's reminiscent of orange blossoms, but being mock I don't think they're quite as sweet. (one of my fondest Florida memories is riding in the car with the windows down during orange blossom season.)
Here are some roses that grow over an arbor. I have done a really poor job keeping them trained onto the arbor, so now it's a rose monster. An aggressive pink pre-raphaelite rose monster. (Rose Monsters of this variety are more bluster and blossom than bite, thankfully.)
You may recall these space alien/cooked red cabbage peonies from way back when in march. (you may not, which is why I have helpfully provided the photo again.) Well, I promised that I would show a picture when they bloomed, and the time has come! These are from a garden I pass on my way to the park.
and more, because I can't not:
and now, because it's still light for a little bit, I'm going to go cut a peony bouquet as big as my car. (it's a small car.) They won't last outside in another day of warm temps, so if I want to enjoy them longer, now's my chance.
"and yes I said yes I will Yes."
OMG, I so love those photos.
ReplyDeleteAbout Ulysses: It is a challenge, but well worth it. I read it just a few pages at a time. Haven't tackled it recently. We could do a Ulysses reading club dealy. Just 3 or max 4 pages at a time--'til we wore out the idea or decided to fly with it?
I'm glad you like the photos!
ReplyDeletehmmm.. I am intrigued by your Ulysses idea. I currently have a reading pile as tall as I am, but still. Hmmm.