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Author, Artist, Storyteller
LIFE'S SECOND ACTS
a blog by Marilyn Woods
Welcome to my blog about celebrating family, friends, art, and all the joys and sorrows of life's second act.
Read recent posts or explore by category below.
A strange obsession?
Eight-year-old Carly, my granddaughter, stood somewhat in awe, somewhat in puzzlement in front of the floor-to-ceiling display cabinet at the end of the room. “You sure do like skeletons, Neeny,” she observed. I do. I do collect skeletons or skulls. I no longer collect jewelry of any kind—I have a guy in my life that likes to do that for me. But recently, I could not resist a tiny skull crafted from coral, the color of ripe peaches. Tisi, the very talented jeweler aat Lost Ci
Genius
I can’t say that it ruins my day, but it definitely frustrates me and affects my overall performance. It’s just a small failure, but not a good way to begin. I have a routine. First checking my emails, then messages, and then I open the New York Times. Methodically, I scroll down reading as little of the national news as possible, skimming the world news, opening a sports piece only if it pertains to one of my teams, save any recipe that sounds appealing—and easy, and finally
And I'm Exhausted!
As our journey to the Midwest, the East Coast, and the South comes to an end, I have reflections and resolutions. I began my current trip preparation—one filled with special occasions—vowing, “It’s official. I’m done with trying to get everything I own for eleven days into a carry-on the size of a lunchbox. I am not in a contest to see who can travel the smallest, lightest, or most efficient! I don’t care if all three wrinkle-free pants go with all three easily 'rinsed out'
Girl's Night
I’d Rather Be Red...
Oh, how I’d love to be a redhead in a Toulouse Lautrec painting. Flame-hair igniting the dance halls and brothels of Montmartre. A can-can dancer, a launderess, a prostitute. Working-class girls. Reclining, crouching, bathing. I imagine myself on stage, high-kicking the top hat off the gentleman in the front row. Or a sad chanteuse clad in long black gloves crooning a soft song. Perhaps adjusting my peek-a-boo fishnet stockings... or washing my copper tresses in la toilet
Puzzling, to say the least . . .
Three of us worked the thousand-piece Paris scene puzzle over a period of ninety days, completing it just before the deadline I had set of the spring forward daylight savings time change. Time to live outside. Two very senior seniors and one extremely hip and cosmopolitan thirty something. My latest puzzle fascination began at a spacious lake house in Michigan last summer—a Big Chill version of Friends . Six of us, usually with a cup of coffee, a beer, or a glass of wine in
Ode to My Quasi-Greek Statue
Sorry, not really a statue, my friend. You're a bust. Head and shoulders only. But what a delightful companion you are! Ready to party at the drop of a hat. To celebrate. How glamourous you looked for New Year’s Eve. Those white and silver plumes in your hair and those rhinestones dripping. Show-stopper! It’s adorable how each time I go to Texas, you don your Dallas necklace announcing my destination. Like you’re ready to burst into “The Stars at Night are big and bright. Dee
Art Speak
A strange obsession?
Eight-year-old Carly, my granddaughter, stood somewhat in awe, somewhat in puzzlement in front of the floor-to-ceiling display cabinet at the end of the room. “You sure do like skeletons, Neeny,” she observed. I do. I do collect skeletons or skulls. I no longer collect jewelry of any kind—I have a guy in my life that likes to do that for me. But recently, I could not resist a tiny skull crafted from coral, the color of ripe peaches. Tisi, the very talented jeweler aat Lost Ci
Marilyn Gardner Woods
Jul 102 min read
Promenade in Purples
Regal, like dignitaries in a receiving line, they stand in their purple opulence. Magnificent tropical beauties, the awe-inspiring Jacaranda trees full of silky flowers which hang in countless full bunches grow twenty-five to forty feet with an equal spread. With arching branches and gracefully curved multiple trunks, they frame First Avenue, along with graceful queen palms, on both sides from Walnut to Laurel, the alphabetically named tree cross streets of my San Diego neigh
Marilyn Gardner Woods
May 51 min read
I’d Rather Be Red...
Oh, how I’d love to be a redhead in a Toulouse Lautrec painting. Flame-hair igniting the dance halls and brothels of Montmartre. A can-can dancer, a launderess, a prostitute. Working-class girls. Reclining, crouching, bathing. I imagine myself on stage, high-kicking the top hat off the gentleman in the front row. Or a sad chanteuse clad in long black gloves crooning a soft song. Perhaps adjusting my peek-a-boo fishnet stockings... or washing my copper tresses in la toilet
Marilyn Gardner Woods
Apr 271 min read
Family Fun
And I'm Exhausted!
As our journey to the Midwest, the East Coast, and the South comes to an end, I have reflections and resolutions. I began my current trip preparation—one filled with special occasions—vowing, “It’s official. I’m done with trying to get everything I own for eleven days into a carry-on the size of a lunchbox. I am not in a contest to see who can travel the smallest, lightest, or most efficient! I don’t care if all three wrinkle-free pants go with all three easily 'rinsed out'
Marilyn Gardner Woods
May 212 min read
Puzzling, to say the least . . .
Three of us worked the thousand-piece Paris scene puzzle over a period of ninety days, completing it just before the deadline I had set of the spring forward daylight savings time change. Time to live outside. Two very senior seniors and one extremely hip and cosmopolitan thirty something. My latest puzzle fascination began at a spacious lake house in Michigan last summer—a Big Chill version of Friends . Six of us, usually with a cup of coffee, a beer, or a glass of wine in
Marilyn Gardner Woods
Mar 316 min read
Careful what you wish for . . .
“Twas a month after Christmas . . . They all know. My family. I wish for an all-family reunion at least once a year. Miraculously, it happens again and again. This year, the clan—relatives from the Outer Banks, Brooklyn, Washington, Oregon, and nearby Valley Center—gathered in San Diego over the Christmas and New Year’s holiday with three full-family happenings and mini-family get-togethers sprinkled throughout the week. Two birthday parties, Christmas Eve, Christmas morning
Marilyn Gardner Woods
Jan 163 min read
Adventures at Home& Away
And I'm Exhausted!
As our journey to the Midwest, the East Coast, and the South comes to an end, I have reflections and resolutions. I began my current trip preparation—one filled with special occasions—vowing, “It’s official. I’m done with trying to get everything I own for eleven days into a carry-on the size of a lunchbox. I am not in a contest to see who can travel the smallest, lightest, or most efficient! I don’t care if all three wrinkle-free pants go with all three easily 'rinsed out'
Marilyn Gardner Woods
May 212 min read
Promenade in Purples
Regal, like dignitaries in a receiving line, they stand in their purple opulence. Magnificent tropical beauties, the awe-inspiring Jacaranda trees full of silky flowers which hang in countless full bunches grow twenty-five to forty feet with an equal spread. With arching branches and gracefully curved multiple trunks, they frame First Avenue, along with graceful queen palms, on both sides from Walnut to Laurel, the alphabetically named tree cross streets of my San Diego neigh
Marilyn Gardner Woods
May 51 min read
To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow . . .
Red Pancake Plant (Kalanchoe Thyrsiflora), 2012 Spring arrived recently, and my favorite place became the garden. San Diego’s sure-fire and steadfast sunshiny springtime weather ended the indoor fireplace season. I am a gardener. My maiden name is Gardner which primarily comes from an English occupational surname for “keeper of the garden.” I am that, but also a lover of plants, the life and death cycle so clearly illustrated in gardening, more each year of my adult life. I’v
Marilyn Gardner Woods
Mar 83 min read
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