Allegretto ~ Tempo of The Morning Body.

When still awake at 3 am, the body's tempo begins a little short come morn...this morning was a tad slower than usual, but still filled with exuberance. I was moderately fast but less so than allegro, so it had to be allegretto! My wakeup call was Schubert Schubert Quintet in C, D 956 - 4. Allegretto - enjoy!

Morning E-Mail with a message!

Thanks to MaryAnne, a fellow committee member from Development & Peace for sending this!

"Development and Peace is the official international development organization of the Catholic Church in Canada and the Canadian member of Caritas Internationalis. Inspired by Gospel values, particularly "the preferential option for the poor," the goals of Development and Peace are to support initiatives by people in the Global South to take control of their lives and to educate Canadians about North-South issues. Our education, advocacy and fund-raising work here at home is carried out by Development and Peace members from coast to coast." Read more HERE.

You know that I know that WE both know. Love Defined

Buon Giorno Principessa!

My belief is that real love comes around only once in a persons life. You know what kind of love I'm talking about. The one that has the intensity to take your breath away. A profound surge of emotion, the storm when you least expect it. It turns life upside down and you find yourself doing things for the other person that you've never done before. It's almost as if you can move mountains, or at least summit one. Any love arriving afterwards can be felt as 'deep feelings' but it never truly measures up to that deep passionate sense of the heart that true love brought you. In all honesty, you can't compare the two because they are at opposite ends of the spectrum of love. This 'true love' that I'm talking about is a love that is endless and knows no bounds, can persevere and toils through the thickness of life's cruel tricks. It endures everything in it's path, never relinquishes and holds on until the last breath. The thought of impending death does not cause it to waiver and death does not destroy it. It lives. I'm talking about a love that has more depth and breadth ever imaginable, one that touches the deepest part of the soul, a love that makes the spirit scale and soar to points others only dream of. It challenges us. It defines who we are. Love always prevails as it dances to the end. And even in the end this love continues dancing for all eternity. It lives in your soul, in the warmth of the hotel of your heart.

Forever and for always.

"Amor aeternus"

You know. I know. We both know.

MARIO FRANGOULIS BUONGIORNO PRINCIPESSA

Special Note

Amor Aeternus , a musical work by Nicholas Lens.

The Italian

Se canterai
Nella notte che non passa mai
Ti bacero
Sono belle le labbra che ridono

Se piovera
Con la pioggia anche il grano verra
Ti trovero
Ripescando la felicita.
Guarda lassu
La luna e tutta bianca e il cielo e tutto blu
E se anche tu ci sarai
Sara facile tutto vedrai
Ce la faro
Con la forza che ti rubero

E torneremo
A camminare per la via
E ogni stagione riavra la sua poesia.

Se finira
Questa notte di bassa marea
Andremo via
Ripescando la felicita.

Felicita
Andremo via

----

In English

Good Morning Princess

If you sing
In the night that never ends
I will kiss you
Those lips look beautiful when they're smiling

If it rains
Along with the rain, the wheat will also come
I will find you
Rediscovering happiness

Look up there
The moon is so white and the sky is so blue
And if you want to be there too
Everything will be easy, you'll see
I will make it happen
with the strength I'll steal from you

And we will return
To walk this path of life
And every season will have poetry once more

If it ends
This night of low tides
We will go away
Rediscovering happiness

Happiness
We will go away

Wintering Hands

There is a different "beauty of winter" that is captured in the photograph of an aging man's hand as he reaches out for his beloved's ....it is the "winter" of our earthly existence with a beauty that is visible by those whose spirit of hope is in that which lies on the other side.
My parents didn't enter into their winters together, but for many others, despite the harsh realities of pain and suffering, there will be beauty and comfort in their touch and the way they will reach out for each other. Their cold, pale hands, wrinkles and bruises will be harsh evidence that winter has arrived. This display is an unexplainable beauty that reminds us that all life is sacred.




*Archival

News With Heartfelt Reservation.

I am writing this post with reservation. Our family can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that Fr. Joseph has been located but many families have still not heard about their loved ones that are still missing or they are dealing with the aftermath of injuries - mentally and physcially. Our thoughts, prayers and continued support goes out to them.

The following is an email from a cousin.

"via a third party report - my cousin heard from my aunt yesterday and confirmed he's ok (out of water when they last spoke to him) and that the seminary was still standing (he built it, so he must have done it right!) - he's in Croix des Bouquet, which is outside of Port au Prince - but my worry is that hungry people might come to the compound. I feel better knowing that his brother/sister are on their way - they've volunteered there many times before and know where to go. I wish I was down there - I know it sounds crazy, but it feels awful seeing all that chaos and being helpless to lend a hand. I will keep you posted on any more news as I get it."

Theres'a a feeling of helplessness among many at this time of need and all we can do is donate money and pray for the people of Haiti. Many of us wish we could go and help 'hand's on' but our desires are not always possible. With the turmoil that exists I hope for more controlled security so people can receive the food, water and help that they so desperately need.


Interesting fact: Croix-des-Bouquets is a city in the Ouest Department of Haiti. It is located 12.9 kilometers (8 miles) to the northeast of Haiti's capital city, Port-au-Prince. Originally located on the shore, it was relocated inland after the 1770 Port-au-Prince earthquake.


We've done a little research and found beautiful art work from Croix-des-Bouquets. FIRE IRON
ART. You may like to check it out HERE. Slide show seen HERE.

The site has this notice on it:
Haitian Relief Notice!
Effective immediately proceeds from all BRANDAID Project sales will be used to support Haitian relief efforts!




"when we saw the contrast of the stunning art and the stark poverty in Haiti, we just had to get involved" -Josh Brolin and Diane Lane, Patrons of BRANDAID Project's first Collection - Croix des Bouquets. BRANDAID Project.

Heavy Heart, Sad Times.

We are at a loss for words tonight as news comes out of Haiti with the increasing number of deaths. In the photo above, Canada's Governor General Michaelle Jean is overcome with emotion while speaking about the crisis in Haiti following Tuesday's earthquake. (Ottawa January 13, 2010.) Jean is Haitian-born. The death toll in Haiti's catastrophic earthquake could run to tens of thousands, Haiti's President Jean Preval said.

The first Canadian confirmed dead is Yvonne Martin, a nurse from Elmira, ON. which is 20 minutes away from here. So close to home, we feel the impact and our hearts and prayers go out to her family. She was killed 90 minutes after arriving. Yvonne was to begin work with a mission group using her nursing skills to help the poor.

On a personal note, our family has been desperately trying to contact our cousin and nephew. Father Joseph Durante has been in Haiti for 25+ years as a director of a medical clinic, an educator and as a spiritual director to mission groups. We've not heard anything from him and all attempts have been futile. It's a dreadful feeling not knowing, not hearing. We wait.

"While on a medical mission in 2000, priests from the St. Charles Seminary in Haiti, which is located approximately 3 miles from the L’Ouverture Cleary School, donated land to Haiti Medical Missions of Memphis and constructed a permanent medical clinic on the seminary grounds. The clinic became operational in late fall of 2001. Father Joseph Durante who lives at the St. Charles Seminary complex provides spiritual leadership for our teams while they are in Haiti, and helps direct the day-to-day activities of the clinic." Read more HERE.

Photograph by: REUTERS/Blair Gable

As before..

He said, " Come for a walk with me. Come into the woods. There's a puddle there...we'll look into it like we've done so many times before and all over again we'll tell each other what we see. Come into the woods with me."







“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I have not lived.”
~ Henry David Thoreau

Stunned in the Corn Field

My photography has been showcased on Blog Guelph today and I'm walking around in a windy corn field stunned by the generous way in which Paula Russell describes my work. It's an awesome feeling when someone as talented at Russell writes about your images and lets you know the feeling they conjure.

When people start taking notice of your work, you're both overwhelmed and humbled - it's a good feeling when your work touches others and makes them feel something. So, thank you Paula Russell - you're an inspiration to many!

From Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Paula Russell writes:

I would like to introduce many of you to CAFREL/Francesca Carrer's photostream. She might be relatively new on the Guelph Flickr scene, but she has sure hit it with a bang. I am not as familiar with Francesca's work as I am with many other photographers, but her work sure made an incredible first impression! She has such a pervasive calmness to her images. She clearly distills and quiets her scenes down to focus on a single element or feeling. I find that when I am looking at her images it is not so much that she has frozen a moment in time for the subject, but more that she has frozen both the viewer and the subject together. That stillness she finds in so many subjects and translates so well to her images is both palpable and communicable. My morning is certainly calmer for it. Her stream is peppered with some beautiful isolations, emotive landscapes, and mouth watering food and coffee. I would highly recommend sitting down and looking through her stream, but would suggest have you lunch or a coffee first, otherwise your afternoon will likely be lost. So welcome Francesca, I look forward to following your stream.

Hope you are all having an enjoyable week,

Paula Russell

Blogging from the United States of America!

I'm spending some quality (not quantity) time in the States so I thought I would drop into the Stone Parliament to wish my American friends and readers a happy Columbus Day . To the Canadians up north *smile* I hope you're enjoying turkey dinners and celebrating Thanksgiving with your loved ones too!

I'm hoping to do a bit more posting in the future depending on my level of energy and of course the time factor thing..... so we shall see.

A friend gave me two songs to listen to and I had a difficult time deciding which one to share with you tonight. I picked the Bon Jovi tune. LINK You've heard it all before...about holding on and never giving up and of course living on a prayer. Those close to me know that an important part of my life includes prayer and I'd be lost without my faith life. The message intended in this song (for me) is: Doesn't matter what happens in the end because you're halfway there. As long as you've got someone in your life who deeply cares and supports you then you hold onto that and give it your best shot. And you just might make it! Yes, I like the thought of that! Powerful message in these old rockers eh?

This time I sat alone.

Searching for something you've lost? Growing up Italian/Catholic, the moment something went amiss you were required immediately to say a prayer to St.Antonio who is especially invoked for the recovery of lost things. This guy could find car keys, tennis balls, sunglasses. But what about a tree? Not just any tree, a broken tree. The need to escape to the country had been summoning my spirit all week. Wasn't sure where the tree was but had an inkling of the area remembering a single dirt road that led to a secluded area. With vegetation thick I thought it would be next to impossible to locate. You see, I always came here in the fall or the begninning of winter when things were bare. I found it in the thick of a wooded area not far from the top of the hill, I captured some shots, sat silently on a stump allowing my thoughts to wander to the days when a friend and I hiked this area. This time I was alone.

* Photos captured Sunday, September 6, 2009

** Yes, the sky was that blue. It was one of the best days we've had all summer.