Hidden within his fortress he waits,

The silent protector

A shadow cast from eons ago

An eclipse, an echo

An ageless phantom.

His eyes see far

His voice carries on the wind

The touch of a dream

Substance of the insubstantial

His eyes fix on the horizon as the storm boils without his windows

Slashing his walls

Trembling his foundations--

Yet the storm is not his alone.

Does he think that distance keeps her safe?

She needs no protector

She wants no white knight

She desires only the transmutation of dream to substance

Of completion

Of alchemy

Soul of her soul

Heart of her heart

Oneness of eternity

Of timelessness

Of elemental binding

Fusion of the stars that fell

That split with a thunderous crack

Spinning apart with blinding wake

To bury themselves in the earth

To forget they were stars….

Only the Knowing that is not Thinking remains

Only the Feeling that is not Memory lingers

All has been contained in the Now

And the Soon to Come

As blind feet tread darkened paths

To seek understanding

To seek beauty

To seek life

Completion

Alchemy

Behind the whispering feathers of ravens, the shadow-thick fur of wolves, you breathe. Eye of a dragon, unblinking, settles on the horizon. The mists of ancient memory obscure you, turn you to dream. The raven calls as we stumble through time, watching the spinning cycles and moons and stars and blood red flame consuming everything, the ashes that bloom and grow and awake to reach for the sun. Ancient and young, we are, following paths untread, cloaked in strange humanity within an unfamiliar world. Paths must eventually re-converge… some day…. I pray.

Quick update to this here Live Journal, that doesn't involve picspamming or some such. *laughs*

My mother is in the hospital, having had hip replacement surgery a couple weeks back. She's currently in a rehab hospital, and recovering nicely, all things considered. I went out to see her a few days ago-- she looked very pale, but stronger. And bored. She is an avid bookworm, like me, though her tastes are quite a bit less varied than mine. I think she had Dad rent out half the library... LOL...

For me, mostly more of the same. Multiple projects taking up most of my focus. I'm still working on The Glass Veil, among other things. I'll be posting some pages of it here in a few days, just a teaser, when I've gotten together enough to show a coherent tale unfolding.

I discovered the other day that I really, really want a dog, or a cat. Preferably both. But I miss having dogs, big, sloppy, fluffy, loveable, huggable dogs. I have my heart set on either a German Shepherd or a Golden Retriever, but unfortunately I'm in no position for taking such an animal into my care at the moment. Maybe one day. In the meantime, I'll just croon over cute animal pictures.

And, that about wraps up this pointless update. Best wishes, all :)

An updated Work in Progress... Masquerade.

( Read more... )

Bumping this forward again, for any interested in having commissioned artwork made... :)

http://siabha-maellyn.livejournal.com/73288.html

Making a quick pass here for two things.

First, I've updated my gallery site. http://www.geocities.com/dream_echoes

Second, I'm taking commissions. See the flyer behind the cut for details and samples :)

( Read more... )

Hmmm... why does my caller ID register multiple calls from local random pay phones? *scratches head* Everyone I know in town has a working cell...

I think I may invest in a set of oil paints. Again. This time, if they're stolen, I will use my amazing bloodhound-esque senses to track down the thief, then take him/her into a lab and play the mad scientist, wreaking havoc with his/her DNA code until he/she looks like a cross between a lemming and an ostrich. Then, I'll set him/her loose on the streets of Manhattan, where he/she will inevitably end up on Broadway with a starring role in Cats.

Hm. I seem awfully random today.

:P

Merry Christmas, everyone :)

My little outing to see the Christmas Eve program at my family's church last night wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. They actually had some good music, big band style Christmas songs, with big band dancers, and some pop style Christmas songs as well (didn't care for those as much, though some of them were pretty enough). Of course, they went through their obligatory emotional manipulation and altar call spiel, but I've discovered that I truly have grown beyond that... this was my fear, really, that they somehow did still hold some power over me. But they don't. And that discovery is as wonderful a gift as any

So, today, I will bake the spiral ham and sweet potatoes and rolls. We had our gift exchange last night, as is our custom, over hot cocoa and cheese/meat/crackers. I gave my mother and grandmother some beautiful little handcrafted Christmas tree ornaments (from Target... I'm afraid I'm not very 'crafty" myself...my mother got a cardinal and my grandmother an angel)... to my father I gave a book by Robert Ludlum (I figured he'd prefer that to a Christmas tree ornament... LOL) And... I made homemade pumpkin pies (well, hand mixed filling that I poured into ready-to-bake shells), and homemade chocolate chip meringue cookies :D Though... I have my doubts as to whether the meringues are still in existence... they were rather popular. ;) And... wonder of all wonders... I got the Christmas cards mailed out, the day before Christmas Eve. They're not my work though... I gave up and bought some. LOL At least I'll have completed the image by NEXT Christmas... even I can't procrastinate THAT much... :P

Once again, I ended up shouldering all of the cooking (except for the stuffing) on the holiday, but it all turned out tasty, so I can't complain too much. Yes, believe it or not, I CAN cook. Sometimes.

I've been busy... but that doesn't seem to be overly unusual. I needed to tear my eyes and mind away from work for a bit, so I thought to ramble a bit here.

It's gotten cold, quite suddenly. (I know, the term "cold" is relative...) The raccoons are once again seeking shelter in the house, so relocating them has become a full time job. The cold air brings to mind bundling one's self up in a warm, soft coat, breathing the scent of scarf brushing lips... tasting snowflakes and listening to the music of the icicles in the treetops, feeling the velvety crunch of snow beneath boots. Unfortunately, where I am now, winter only brings freezing rain, rarely snow. But it's loads better than the sweltering summer heat! And I get to snuggle into cozy sweaters and drink hot cocoa (for which I'm highly tempted to buy a bottle of Bailey's to spice it with)...

We got a full sized artificial tree to set up for Christmas, but a) making room for it and b) finding and excavating the decorations for it after five or so years of using a small tabletop tree will be easier said than done...

I think dinner is calling, and then more work. Till later...LOL

From rialian

Cause of claim? Car blown up by squirrel...

http://www.nj.com/news/jjournal/index.ssf?/base/news-3/1192775796213830.xml&coll=3