occasional posts by risa aratyr
When the oak tree fell last December, it crushed my daughter’s car and robbed the potato vine of its fence. The unsupported lianas have been heaped at the base of the oak tree’s stump ever since — a gigantic ball of brown twine with a few green threads stretched over the top. We cut … Read more In the Heart of the Season
I don’t quite understand how people can justify taking a stand on one side or the other of the fate / free-choice fence. Even if you believe the decisions we make about our lives are ordained, to claim that our reactions to events and situations are likewise and entirely pre-determined and that how we … Read more Symphonic Variations
I didn’t need the iteration. Didn’t need to spend another entire effing day crunched at the computer slogging through endless business emails to realize that changing my job didn’t change anything — I’m still working too many hours for too little pay. Didn’t need to catch sight of the unchopped wood under the … Read more The Portents
As a rule, I’m not partial to discussing current events. Verbal dissection of the situation — political, environmental, social, or cultural — invariably leads me to the conclusion that we’re going to hell in a handbasket and there’s fuck-all we can do about it. At that point, my discomfort level hits critical, my brain shuts … Read more Enough Rope
I’d been looking forward to supper. N.’s passion and calling is culinary art; when she feeds a crowd it’s a gustatory event not to be missed. Her menu was sweet simplicity in the time-honored traditon of BBQ — grilled chicken, potato salad, coleslaw and vanilla ice cream. Her execution, as usual, was exceptional. Bits of crunchy, diced color adorned … Read more Single-File Spirituality