The simplicity of the slinky is pure delight.

I have one on my desk and play with it often when mulling a problem. I view it from one angle and then another. I listen to the sound as I rock it back and forth. I explore it’s line and displacement of space.

It quiets my thoughts. It provides space for clarity.

from Wikipedia:

The toy was invented and developed by naval engineer Richard James in the early 1940s and demonstrated at Gimbels department store inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania in November 1945. The toy was a hit, selling its entire inventory of 400 units in ninety minutes. James and his wifeBetty formed James Industries in Philadelphia to manufacture Slinky and several related toys such as the Slinky Dog and Suzie, the Slinky Worm.

I set up my about.me splash page and want to share it with you: http://about.me/stellagassaway/.

If you don’t have an about.me splash page, you can get one for free at http://about.me/. Names are going fast so you might want to get yours now.

@ste!!a

I try to use electronic calendars but they don’t think the way I do.

Now I use a Moleskine.

Strange.

I’m not sure what to think.

Strange.

I’m not sure what to think.

Boots of Spanish Leather 1964

Oh, I’m sailin’ away my own true love
I’m sailin’ away in the morning
Is there something I can send you from across the sea
From the place that I’ll be landing?

No, there’s nothin’ you can send me, my own true love
There’s nothin’ I wish to be ownin’
Just carry yourself back to me unspoiled
From across that lonesome ocean

Oh, but I just thought you might want something fine
Made of silver or of golden
Either from the mountains of Madrid
Or from the coast of Barcelona

Oh, but if I had the stars from the darkest night
And the diamonds from the deepest ocean
I’d forsake them all for your sweet kiss
For that’s all I’m wishin’ to be ownin’

That I might be gone a long time
And it’s only that I’m askin’
Is there something I can send you to remember me by
To make your time more easy passin’

Oh, how can, how can you ask me again
It only brings me sorrow
The same thing I want from you today
I would want again tomorrow

I got a letter on a lonesome day
It was from her ship a-sailin’
Saying I don’t know when I’ll be comin’ back again
It depends on how I’m a-feelin’

Well, if you, my love, must think that-a-way
I’m sure your mind is roamin’
I’m sure your heart is not with me
But with the country to where you’re goin’

So take heed, take heed of the western wind
Take heed of the stormy weather
And yes, there’s something you can send back to me
Spanish boots of Spanish leather

I’m also looking for videos to share. Strangely almost all of the versions I could find of this song were in China. Piracy maybe?

You can also listen at Dylans site. Just click on the song title below.

I have a new found affection for:

One Too Many Mornings 1964

Down the street the dogs are barkin’
And the day is a-gettin’ dark
As the night comes in a-fallin’
The dogs’ll lose their bark
An’ the silent night will shatter
From the sounds inside my mind
For I’m one too many mornings
And a thousand miles behind

From the crossroads of my doorstep
My eyes they start to fade
As I turn my head back to the room
Where my love and I have laid
An’ I gaze back to the street
The sidewalk and the sign
And I’m one too many mornings
An’ a thousand miles behind

It’s a restless hungry feeling
That don’t mean no one no good
When ev’rything I’m a-sayin’
You can say it just as good.
You’re right from your side
I’m right from mine
We’re both just one too many mornings
An’ a thousand miles behind

Finally after many an effort the twins have been reunited.

I looked for replacement glass for ages. No one seemed to carry the two cup carafe. Everytime I went on the Bodum website it was out of stock. Surprisingly, last Saturday I walked over to Old City Coffee to pick up my weekly 1/2 pound of Balzac beans. While the nice fellow in the red cap filled my reusable bag with beans; the replacement carafe stared at me from a nearby shelf.

It hadn’t been there before.

I picked out a box and added it to my purchase, put it in my pocket, and took it home. Joy! I washed it out and put it into my original Bodum French Press — one before plastic was added. Now the twins are reunited.

But, a moment of indecision.

Which one do I love best?