plumb

Last night we made an amazing discovery at Union Market, the prettiest market I've ever been to. We stopped by for some grub before taking Amelia to the playground behind her school to play a bit before bed. I was only able to enjoy half the adventure because I was being rigid and unflexible, which will do that to you. But we got home, got girls to bed, turned on Idol and then experienced our prized treasure from the market run: Blackberry Cabernet Sorbetto by Ciao Bella. Made with real blackberries and real Cabernet wine. Yum. Yum. No, more like oh la la.

One thing I love about spring is keeping the windows open day and night and letting the fresh breeze and sounds from the neighborhood flow through our rooms. My neighbor said the thing she hates most about air conditioner season is the way is closes up the apartment. Motorcycles revving, cats fighting (my mother would love that one!), sirens and horns play through like a background track we're laying our living on top of. Reminds me how I longed for a place character with a little more texture, a few more quirks and eccentricities. We certainly found her.

Feels like the Promised Land to us lately, like the place where our hopes and dreams ripen and fall on us like fruit dropping from a tree. I found out yesterday that my years-long dream of hearing the Innocence Mission perform live will come true in about five weeks when they come perform two blocks from my apartment. I think it's been years since they performed outside of Pennsylvania. I nearly wept with joy. My work with The Artist's Way and embarking on this grand adventure have taught me so much about how our longings (which I used to regard with skepticism and doubt--they could be of the flesh, after all) give us the most accurate compass for life we could ask for. I know, we all would rather have the blueprint most of the time, but the compass is all we get. Well, that and the choice to follow it or not. It's like truing up against the plumb line and feeling harmony and joy restored.

I'm off to buy the new IM CD--I need to learn all the words so I can sing along! Cheers to anyone who indulges in Blackberry Cabernet this weekend.