William Morris’ Love is Enough has been on my mind this morning. “He makes a poem these days–in dismal Queen Square in black old filthy London in dull end of October he makes a pretty poem that is to be wondrously happy; and it has four sets of lovers in it and THEY ALL ARE HAPPY…
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There’s a horror that sets in just before a new beginning. It can cripple you. The key is to understand the process. Like everything else in life, there are stages. First there’s fear. It is a cold fear that paralyzes. Dive into it with a rush, it is like plunging deep into freezing water…
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Friends sometimes say it’s strange that I can simultaneously be optimistic and bubbly while also being captivated by art filled with melancholy and death. I’m not sure how to answer except to say that I consciously choose to embrace life to the fullest and believe that my positive mindset is one of my strengths. But I’ve also encountered death, pain, and trials in my life that have helped me understand how fleeting it is. I want to experience it…
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Like every woman ever, there have been many times in my life when I’ve seen models or actresses and compared my own looks to them and realized I don’t measure up. I will never measure up. Then I grew wiser and realized that what I didn’t measure up to is a myth. That idea of…
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Well, hello there 2017! We’ve barely begun to get acquainted. I don’t have a feel for you yet. You still hold that thrilling newness and I can not peek inside of you. But I know that right now, you are magical. At this moment you are twelve months of possibility. And I long to dwell…
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Our Halloween revelry is over and now we honor our ancestors with the Day of the Dead. Throughout Mexico and the Southwestern U.S., this is Dia de los Muertos, a special event that focuses on togetherness of family and friends and honoring those who have passed on. It is a beautiful way to honor the…
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Professor Richard D. Altick is a man I never met but respect a great deal. Here in the United States, he is regarded as a pioneer of Victorian Studies. He was the author of over twenty books, including The Scholar Adventures (1950) and The Art of Literary Research (1963). After his death at the age of…
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Above is a detail from Arthur Rackham’s illustration of Pan from The Wind in the Willows. I first became enchanted by Pan when, as a little girl, I read The Wind in the Willows. I was in love with that book from the moment Mole became fed up with his spring-cleaning, left his hole, and met…
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When I was fifteen years old, my father taught me how to drive. I was eager yet scared; I couldn’t believe that I had actually passed the test to get my learner’s permit. Dad wanted to give me ample opportunity to practice before beginning Driver’s Ed at school so we drove together often. He’d…
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I have an obsessive/compulsive relationship with the number three that has been in place for most of my life. For many years, it was so subtle that neither I or loved ones noticed. It existed in childhood but was overlooked. I have now been a parent for nineteen years, and it is something my children…
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Well, hello there 2014! We’ve barely begun to get acquainted. I don’t have a feel for you yet. You still hold that thrilling newness and I can not peek inside of you. But I know that right now, you are magical. At this moment you are twelve months of possibility. And I long to dwell…
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Pre-Raphaelite art includes many beautiful yet different types of women. On one end of the spectrum, we have damsels in distress that need to be rescued. Or fallen women in need of forgiveness for having fallen (as if they fell by themselves). On the other end, we have goddesses and mythological women who need no…
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I seem to be bombarded by advertisements that insist there is still time to get my body “bikini ready”. If I can’t sculpt, shape or melt away areas of my body, I can visit one of the many tanning salons that seem to be popping up on every corner. Or I could take a safer…
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About a year ago, I was lucky enough to acquire a two volume set of The Life and Letters of Sir John Everett Millais, written by his son in 1898. It’s a beautiful set that I’ve longed to own, but was unable to give it the attention it deserves as my husband was still recuperating…
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I’ve recently read Undine by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué. Written in the early 1800s, it is a classic fairy tale in which Undine, an elemental water spirit, marries a human in order to gain a soul. It may be derived from the tale of Melusina. (I prefer Melusina, who seems to have a strength…
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My husband is in the hospital again. Still dealing with the repercussions from his accident last May. It’s more serious this time. An infection has spread to the bone. Let me use the technical term, just so I can feel the weight of it: Osteomyelitis. It’s serious and scary, but we are remaining hopeful and…
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I am exhausted. On a whim, I decided to paint my living area and kitchen red. I’ve always wanted red walls. I think they are bold and artistic and for me it represents a creative outlook that I’m trying to indulge in my life. But, good grief does my back ache right now. I am…
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There is a wealth of possibility in beginnings, especially the beginning of a new year. Since I see beginnings as positive, I think it’s dreadful if we add anything negative to that. I never form New Year’s Resolutions that have anything to do with subtraction. No eating less, no shedding pounds, no pining or wishing…
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As part of the Magick4Terri findraiser, I am auctioning off the chance to promote your product,site, book, or whatever fabulous idea you have on both of my sites. I don’t usually have advertising on my sites, but I’m actually excited about this as I’d love to help Terri in some small way and I’m curious…
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This blog generates a lot of email. I try my best, but I can’t always answer it all. Often I will receive an email that I don’t have time to answer that very moment, but as I continue with my day I will mentally compose a reply, usually a great reply. Later I will embarrassingly realize…
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I’m lucky enough to have regular readers here at Pre-raphaelite Sisterhood and several lovely followers on the accompanying Facebook page. The Facebook page has been convenient for me, especially since my daily schedule has been different over the summer and I haven’t posted as much here as I would have liked. Plus, the facebook page…
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I see the world with a Pre-Raphaelite eye. I can’t help myself. Things happen and Pre-Raphaelite images will pop into my head without warning. Or a passage I’ve read will suddenly be there, rewritten in my mind. When I first saw the Prisoner Zero episode of Doctor Who, when everyone else was probably thinking “get…
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