strange dreams

Over the last few nights I've been having some very strange dreams. Actually, I think the strange dreams have been a constant since I've been away from home. But things from accidentally buying a new computer (how does that happen?) to dating Dr. House (from House, M.D. -- not Hugh Laurie, but his character). Do strange dreams result in less restful sleep?

Have you ever had a dream where you knew it was a dream and you could sense that it was slipping away because you were waking up and you tried to make the dream continue and even tried to control the direction of the dream? I tried to do that with the House dream because it was so crazy...in the dream I was actually thinking, "How did this happen?" And I was so intrigued that I wanted it to continue to see where it was going to go . . . would we have sex? would we get married? No idea. I woke up, the dream ended and I just couldn't get it back.

I think the whole concept of lucid dreaming is an interesting one. I have consciously tried to have lucid dreams, but it is incredibly difficult. I think my mind is much more interested in getting rest!

Have you had lucid dreams? Do tell!

eggs and egg shaped items

For some reason I am drawn to eggs. There is something about the shape and symmetry of them that I find appealing. One of my favorite artists, Sonja Blomdahl, evokes this feeling as well. Although not necessarily egg-shaped, the vessels have a voluptuous and, if I may say, erotic shape.

I'm also recently, inexplicably, drawn toward eggplants. There is something about the shape combined with the deep color that makes me want to pick one up and feel the cool, smooth skin.

Big J, who is a glass artist, really feels that people should be allowed to pick up glass art, and I completely agree. There is something about the medium that draws people in and almost begs to be held. The texture, most often, is smooth, and while the glass is initially cool it warms to the touch. Touching a glass vessel allows the one to experience at least a minute part of what the artist experiences in creating the piece as (s)he shapes it with wet paper or a wooden block. It is nearly inconceivable to think that wet paper is the only thing between the artist's hand and molten glass. And perhaps that is one reason is continues to draw us in.

But back to the eggs. Eggs are symbols of new life and growth. Dreams of eggs can often point to a person's creativity. The egg, for some species, is essentially the womb. It provides nourishment and protection for the developing embryo. We often marvel at the development that takes place within the uterus and look at the growing belly of a woman as, some would say, the miracle of life. But rarely do we think of eggs in the same way, when in fact that is exactly what it is. Think of the fledgling robin developing within the tiny blue eggs, or the thousands of salmon within eggs barely as big as a fingertip.

What if we could look at the world and see each thing from it's earliest existence? Would that change how we cared for the environment and each other?

8 things about me

Tracey at Life in Sugar Hollow tagged me for "8 Things*," so here goes . . .

1. I love baseball. In fact, I love it so much that I have looked into fantasy camp, becoming an umpire, and working for a major league team after I retire. To me, baseball is the ultimate summer activity. One of my favorite baseball quotes:

I see great things in baseball. It's our game - the American game. It will take our people out-of-doors, fill them with oxygen, give them a larger physical stoicism. Tend to relieve us from being a nervous, dyspeptic set. Repair these losses, and be a blessing to us. ~Walt Whitman

2. I play several instruments, including the clarinet and saxophone, moderately well.

3. Upon recent review of my grade school and high school report cards, I realized that I wasn't a great student. I'd sort of convinced myself otherwise. But apparently I was just average.

4. In an alternate world I am an English professor and poet.

5. From a conversation I recently had with my cousin/sister: I envy the lives of the women profiled in Title 9.

6. I consider myself a solitary person, but I don't like to be alone.

7. I have a small collection of eggcups and I am always on the lookout for more.

8. I think I would be completely happy living somewhere in Europe.

I am tagging my girlfriends at: Coyote Whisper, and My Single Sabbatical.

The Rules:
Each player lists 8 facts/habits about themselves. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning before those facts/habits are listed. At the end of the post, the player then tags 8 (or not!) people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.