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What the Living Do, by Marie Howe, has been one of my most recent and amazing reads. Her book recalls other poet's works concerning loss and death, such as Elizabeth Bishop's. In particular, I am reminded of Bishop's "One Art," which can be found in The Complete Poems, 1927-1979. This poem, like the ones found in What the Living Do, encapsulates the loss of a loved one within the every day routine. The narrator states, "Lose something every day. Accept the fluster / of lost door keys, the hour badly spent." The poem culminates with the loss of the loved one. In this stanza, the narrator reveals her true feelings regarding loss: "It's evident / the art of losing's not too hard to master / though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster." Howe's poems employ a similar technique. Rather than devolving into sentimental cliches, the poems focus on the every day happenings that occur in the midst of, or in spite of, the presence of death. In these poems, every day moments, such as lovers fighting and school assignments, become extraordinary through the introduction of the uncommon element of death. This element is never shocking; rather, the tone regarding death is almost completely flat, recalling the tone found in the final lines of Bishop's poem. For example, in the poem "Late Morning," the narrator remembers a morning spent with her lover: "[W]e sat like that for a few minutes, without saying much of anything, / my cheek pressed lightly / against his [James] cheek, and my brother John was dead." This statement could be jarring, but the reality is that death dwells in the midst of life. The poem exhibits this truth when it returns to the actual moment of sitting with her lover and to the remembrance of the miniscule details, such as the "crumbs and dishes still / on the table, and a small glass bottle of milk and an open jar of / raspberry jam." Thus, everything, from a bottle of milk to lost door keys, becomes attached to life, loss, and death.
Most restaurants know that presentation is everything, and, last evening, I was quite impressed by the "presentation" given by Thyme Matters, a restaurant located on the westside of El Paso. From the folded napkins - an art in and of itself - to the hot tea set, Thyme Matters knows how to please the customer's eye. Even the entrees were presented artistically; the food provided all the colors of an artist's palette and was arranged on lovely, modern place settings.
An equally important consideration in a restaurant is ambience, and I found that Thyme Matters had a lovely one. The music provided a nice background. It seemed like a quieter and classier version of house music. The music also was set at the perfect sound level; I could easily converse with my friends. The restaurant had a wonderful design - a lot of open space created by the high ceiling and second-story loft area. The restaurant also featured an outdoor patio, which would have been tempting if it hadn't been windy yesterday. The artistic pieces in the restaurant were what I call "muted contemporary" and placed in strategic places to heighten the space's effect.
Of course, even with ambience and presentation, no restaurant is complete without a good menu. Thyme Matters did not disappoint. I ordered the eggplant parmesan, which came with a side salad. It was very palatable, but what I enjoyed most was trying my friend's tilapia. I'm not that fond of seafood, but I was pleasantly surprised by the fish. It had a wonderful flavor due to the chipotle spices, and it was very tender. I think the next time I visit Thyme Matters, I may have to order it.
I love finding unique jewelry, and, fortunately, many of my friends have been blessed with artistic talent. One of these friends has her own business, littleladybugjewelry. Each of the pieces she designs is unique since she only purchases charms and beads in small quantities. Recently, she has begun to work with sterling silver and has developed a new sterling silver line of earrings. I hope you'll check out her website and purchase some jewelry or become a fan of her work. I think we need to support independent business owners as much as possible in our current economy.
I have discovered yet another classy restaurant in El Paso (I feel as though I'm turning into a food, or, at least, a restaurant, critic). This time, my friends and I visited Maria Chuchena, a restaurant which serves gourmet Mexican food, at its new location on Mesa Street in El Paso. Our hostess was very kind, although I was glad to have my Spanish-speaking amiga with me (the hostess and waitstaff do ask if you prefer English or Spanish, so the place is welcoming to non-Spanish-speaking customers).
The appetizers were excellent - small dinner rolls filled with cream cheese, tostadas, and salsa. The salsa is prepared at the table by the waiter or waitress, and it's custom-tailored. Onions? Cilantro? You can have as much or as little as you desire (we went with the medium blend, light on the onions).
The main dishes were excellent as well. I ordered "Carlitos," which consists of beef tacos and a side of guacamole. The food was delicious; the beef was tender and had an excellent flavor due to the peppers and onions (and other spices, I'm sure). After the meal, our waiter asked if we would like to order dessert, but, of course, we didn't save room. I guess I'll have to return to Maria Chuchena to try their pastries...
Shundo Dance Studio is one of my favorite places in El Paso. From the classes offered during the week to the socials on Fridays and Saturdays, Shundo is an excellent place to meet new people (I met one of my best friends during a beginner's salsa class) in a friendly and safe environment.
I first started going to Shundo last summer because I was interested in swing dance. After two weeks, though, curiousity got the better of me, and I started going to the beginner's salsa class. I felt completely inept, but I was having fun. Although I spent much of the classtime laughing at myself, in a couple of months, the dance instructor told me to try the intermediate class.
I tried the class, and, while the class was extremely challenging, it was a lot of fun. I stayed in the class for several months and finally felt that it was time to try out my dance moves (such as they were) at one of the socials. The guys at the social were perfect gentlemen (my friend and I call it the "Shundo Air Effect"), and even the best dancers were willing to dance with novices. The nice thing about the social is that a class is held prior to the social, so, even if you don't know very much about salsa or other Latin dances, you can still learn a few steps that will allow you to dance the night away.
Quieres bailar? Si, quiero bailar!
A few weeks ago, my friend and I found a new eatery, called Ripe, in El Paso. The restaurant is kind of eclectic, with artwork and small lights bordering the dining area. Music: oldies, but goodies (I remember hearing several songs by the Beatles). Food: excellent. I had a Florentine omelette, which consisted of eggs (of course), spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, and feta cheese. The omelette came with taters (delicious!) and black beans (Beans aren't my favorite vegetables, but these had an excellent flavor.). Our food also came with homemade biscuits with a hint of cinnamon (They were so good that they almost melted in your mouth.). To end the meal, we were given small cookies (I wish I could remember what they were called...). They were the perfect complement to the meal - they cleansed the palate, without making us feel that we'd eaten an entire dessert. The waitservice was excellent, from the host to the waitress. Our glasses were always full, and our stomachs, well, let's just say that our stomachs were completely satisfied. Bon appetit!
I can't believe that it's the first day of February. It seems as though it should still be December. I ask you, "Where did January go?" The truth is, the month went by in a blur of work, interviews, Bible study, and hanging out with mis amigos. I'm sure I wasted a good amount of my time as well, which is an area in my life that I'm addressing. This month, I want to be more aware of how I'm spending my time. I'm not saying that we can't have a lazy day once and again; I do know that we all need days where we chill. After all, we wouldn't be able to function without a day of rest (which is why God created the Sabbath). Yesterday is the perfect example of "rest": I went to church, which was followed by lunch (more about the restaurant later - delicious!) and a visit to the art museum with one of my girlfriends, and more fellowship (several hours, actually) with her and another friend. If I could make a comparison, it was a sort of spa treatment for the soul. Lol.
Ephesians 5: 15-7 (NAS) tells us, "Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil." I want to challenge myself and you to evaluate how we're spending our time. Are we wasting our time with idle thoughts? Are we constantly busy? Neither way of spending time is correct; we need to have balance - enough work and enough rest - so that we can walk wisely, making the most of our time.
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