Marion Agnew

It's time for one of those year-end, contemplative posts. So here are some bits of accumulated wisdom from 2015. Best Life-Simplifier: Buying extra underwear and socks. When you have a well, you're conscious of water. When you go from one week's worth of underwear and socks to three weeks' worth, the number of loads of laundry you do drops dramatically, your cistern stays full longer, and you don't need to buy extra water. Plus you can stop monitoring water quite so obsessively. Best Indulgence: Buying iced-tea spoons. They were not strictly necessary and have yet to be (may never be!) used for iced tea, but they were also inexpensive. And it's SO LOVELY to be able to avoid getting mayonnaise and peanut butter on my knuckles. Small pleasures are sometimes the BEST. Best Challenge:  Saying "no" more often than I was really comfortable with, all so any "yes" could be something I did with great enthusiasm. I had some great experiences la

My husband's heart surgery was a year ago tomorrow. The following poem has been my companion, off and on, ever since. [i carry your heart with me(i carry it in]   BY E. E. CUMMINGS       i carry your heart with me(i carry it in my heart)i am never without it(anywhere i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done by only me is your doing,my darling)                                                       i fear no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true) and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant and whatever a sun will always sing is you      here is the deepest secret nobody knows (here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows higher than soul can hope or mind can hide) and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart      i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart) For his part, my husband says he feels more like these lines:       I have not b