What a difference a day off makes! Sigh. At long last I can catch up on housework, shopping, laundry, emails, phone calls, and all my necessary blogging/wiki-ing, both personal and academic. Add the fact that the weather today is beautiful, and is it any wonder I'm celebrating with a meme?

Sev, luv, shall you do the honors? Now that I'm not in a beastly mood and all? ::rustle of parchment amid affirmative muttering:: I even got him to join me by the pool, if you can believe it. All sunscreened up, granted, but then so am I....

Gakked from ludzu_alus:

Comment on this post. I will then choose five interests from your profile and reply to you with them. Repost this meme in your own journal along with the explanations of what each chosen interest means and why you're interested in it.

And those interests chosen by ludzu_alus:

Zuni Fetishes - small stones carved to look like various animals, each of which is associated with a certain meaning. I first encountered them in a conversation with my dad that went something like this:

Dad: "Hey, did you know I have a bear fetish?"
Me: (thinking, *whaaa? a bear fetish? like one of those sexual fetishes?*)
Dad: (apparently sensing my confusion) "No, not that kind of bear!"
Me: (thinking, *eep! a bare fetish?!?*) "Oh?"
Dad: (apparently not sensing my horror) "Yes, it's carved from snowflake obsidian...very beautiful."
Me: (finally making the connection to both that kind of bear and that kind of fetish) "Oh, like one of those carvings thought to be sorta like spirit guides...."

Later, while visiting Jerome, AZ, I got to see the real thing carved by real Zunis (and, er, other local artists). While my favorite animal at the time was the wolf, the fetishes I consistently fell in love with were bears. I eventually discovered that the bear was Guardian of the West, associated with the color blue, and while it represented mostly healing and introspection, it was a strengthening spirit during times of change. Everything about the bear fetish resonated with me: I'm a Westerner, my favorite color was blue, and at the time I was facing the difficult shift from college to the Real World.

I've loved Zuni fetishes from that moment, and while currently I have only a black marble raven, I fully intend to continue collecting as I discover carvings that speak to me.

Thunderstorms - No real complicated explanation to this one: I simply love thunderstorms, the wilder, the better. I love the smell of the air just after it begins to rain. I love the sound of thunder and the way I can feel its vibration in my chest. I love the flashing light and its unpredictability. And I always have the sense that a thunderstorm is extraordinary, that while it remains fettered to safety, it might snap those chains at any moment.

Periwinkle - Not the color. Although that's nice, we're talking the plant, my favorite flower---Vinca major, specifically. I first saw it wandering the gardens of Cantigny (pronounced can-TEE-nee) one late summer day. Something about the starry shape of the flowers, the way their deep purple contrasted with the rich, glossy green of the leaves struck me: I think I stood over them for ten minutes, just soaking them in.

Methos - Of Highlander: the Series. The first actor/character I ever had a true, swoony crush on. So snarky! So witty! Those cheekbones! That nose! That voice! Ahh, Welshmen...delicious. And Peter Wingfield, the actor who plays Methos, seems a nice chap, too. (Click here for more Methos info!)

Fireflies - These are one of the things I miss most about Illinois. We don't really have fireflies in this part of TX. But fireflies always make me think of dusk in our backyard. I like to catch them, straining eyes against the blue air, trying to predict where they'll next appear, but my favorite part is letting them go. Because most of the time, they don't just leave your hand. They crawl up to the tip of your fingers, lift their wings, pause a moment, and then depart. I love to watch that little ritual.

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