Poem for Valentine's Day

I wrote this little poem for my husband a couple of Valentine's Days ago. It's a little geeky in that I love researching stuff I didn't know before (like the names of DNA components), but I think even without the DNA, you can get the jist, that I love my husband, and that we're in it for the long haul. This is from my book, Pruning Burning Bushes, which has a few more lovey-dovey poems in it written specifically for other people's marriages, and then a few more that find their origins in this relationship right here.

Happy Valentine's Day, people!


Woven and Spun 


This strand of life
we’ve braided
holds enough history to be
a length of DNA.
Tucked between the kisses given
in quickened passing
and longer-lasting glances
is a trust
like hydrogen bonds
between the bases
thymine and adenine
set to stabilize our double spiral.
After all, your helix is mine
and its twisting is witnessed
in these living beings
we’ve created.
But even when it’s just
me and you around,
our chemical reactions
off interacting in this world,
we will stay bound,
double helix woven and spun.
Our bodies seize the space
of atoms, your soul, legs, fingers, eyes
entwined with mine.

Memorial Day Mulch and More

What a great weekend!  The brick patio is finished, I (re)planted a holly bush destroyed by the dog-that-no-longer-lives-here and planted some Russian sage and dianthus annuals, and then mulched the yard.  A mulched and landscaped yard is so satisfying, maybe as satisfying as harvesting vegetables from my garden.  Maybe.  Okay, a tie then.

Here's what I get to enjoy now:

When we weren't working in the yard, here's what the kids were up to:

Also, I received the proof of the cover of my new poetry book!  I was worried about this part of the process because I work with every step of production including cover design for Ashland, and my contract for this book said the design is entirely up to the publisher.  This made me a little nervous but I figured their other books are very attractive.  All worries disappeared, though, because I love the cover and couldn't have selected anything better.  The cover design prompted me to start a Facebook page for myself, the author (lol).  So, go ahead, "like" me.  Please. :)

I am daily discovering new things about Google and the web that fascinate me.  I consider myself to be a tech-savvy gal, but this whole phone-connected-to-Facebook-connected-to-blogger-connected-to-Google+-connected-to-camera-connected-to-email thing just blows me away.  Now I can upload photos directly from my phone to the blog using Google+.  This is amazing.  Before, I had to download my photos from my camera to my computer and then upload them to blogger.  Or to Facebook.  Not anymore!  And I'm still amazed that Gmail asks me whether I meant to attach something to my email if I said "attached" - and almost always I meant to attach something and forgot.  Woah.  Craziness.

It's BW's birthday today and he's at the doc, hopefully just diagnosed with seasonal allergies and prescribed a heavy-duty allergy medicine.  We're making steaks for dinner in his honor and then celebrating with some friends later on.  His birthday gift to himself was a basketball hoop in our driveway.

Time to head back to work.