Wednesday's Attic

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The scientist in Dr. David Dosa was skeptical when first told that Oscar, an aloof cat kept by a nursing home, regularly predicted patients' deaths by snuggling alongside them in their final hours. Dosa 's doubts eroded after he and his colleagues tallied about 50 correct calls made by Oscar over five years, a process he explains in a book released this week, "Making Rounds With Oscar:  The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat." (Hyperion, $23.99) The feline's bizarre talent astounds Dosa, but he finds Oscar's real worth in his fierce insistence on being present when others turn away from life's most uncomfortable topic: death. "People actually were taking great comfort in this idea, that this animal was there and might be there when their loved ones eventually pass," Dosa said. "He was there when they couldn't be." Dosa, 37, a geriatrician and professor at  Brown University , works on the third floor of the St...

Had my big major dental appointment this evening. My dentist is awesome I had a 7pm appointment! Really helpful to the working masses. I am now all clean and polished. I have only ever had 1 cavity in my entire life. I have good dental genes!

Pink is the color of a rose. They come in other colors but everyone knows pink is the mother-color of a rose. Pink is a new baby, the inside of a shell.. Pink is a cooked shrimp and a Canterbury bell. Pink is peachbloom, gauzy... frail the wind's exquisite wedding veil. Pink is a bonbon, pink is a blush, some Easter bunnies are pink plush. If you stand in an orchard In the middle of Spring and you don't make a sound you can hear pink sing, a darling, whispery song of a thing. Pink is the beautiful little sister of red my teacher said,  and a ribbon girls tie round their head. Pink is the sash with the lovely fold your remember when you're old. Pink is the flower on a lady's hat that nods and bows this way and that.

Red is a sunset, blazy and bright. Red is feeling brave with all your might.  Red is a sunburn spot on your nose, sometimes red is a red, red rose. Red squiggles out when you cut your hand. Red is a brick and a rubber band. Red is a hotness you get inside when you're embarrassed and want to hide firecracker, fire engine, fire flicker -- -- and when you're angry red runs through your head. Red is an Indian, a Valentine heart, the trimming on a circus cart.

This is one of my most favorite Tarot decks. The Victoria Regina is a black and white deck, featuring scenes and personalities from the Victorian era, including Queen Victoria herself. Guns=Swords, Clocks=Pentacles, Mason jars=Cups and  Dip Pens=Staves. I have had this deck for years now and every-time I see it, I see something new in it!

My husband gave me my Valentine early this year. I have named her Valentine for the occasion. I Love her red and black fur trimmed suit! Thank you my love!

Orange is a tiger lily, a carrot, a feather from a parrot, a flame, the wildest color you can name. Orange is a happy day saying good-by in a sunset that shocks the sky. Orange is brave, Orange is bold, it's bittersweet and marigold. Orange is zip, Orange is dash, the brightest stripe in a Roman sash. Orange is an orange, also a mango Orange is music of the tango. Orange is the fur of the fiery fox, the brightest crayon in the box. And in the fall when the leaves are turning Orange is the smell of a bonfire burning...

White is a dove and lily of the valley and a puddle of milk spilled in an alley -- -- a ship's sail, a kite's tail, a wedding veil Hailstones and halibut bones and some people's telephones. The hottest and most blinding light is white. And breath is white  when you blow it out on a frosty night. White is the shining absence of all color then absence is white, out of touch, out of sight. White is marshmallow and vanilla ice cream and the part you can't remember in a dream. White is the sound of a light foot walking White is the beautiful broken lace of snowflakes falling on your face. You can smell white in a country room toward the end of May in the cherry bloom.  

Recently, in a large city in France, a poster featuring a young, thin and tan woman appeared in the window of a gym. It said, "This summer, do you want to be a mermaid or a whale?" A middle-aged woman, whose physical characteristics did not match those of the woman on the poster, responded publicly to the question posed by the gym. To Whom It May Concern, Whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, sea lions, curious humans.) They have an active sex life, get pregnant and have adorable baby whales.  They have a wonderful time with dolphins stuffing themselves with shrimp. They play and swim in the seas, seeing wonderful places like Patagonia, the Bering Sea and the coral reefs of Polynesia . Whales are wonderful singers and have even recorded CDs.  They are incredible creatures and virtually have no predators other than humans. They are loved, protected and admired by almost everyone in the world. Mermaids don't exist. If they did exist, they would be...

Gray is the color of an elephant and a mouse and a falling apart house. it's fog and smog, fine print and lint, it's a hush and the bubbling of oatmeal mush. Tiredness and oysters, both are gray, smoke swirls and grandmother curls. So are some spring coats and nannygoats. Eagles are gray and a rainy day the sad look of a slum and chewing gum Wood ash and linen crash. Pussywillows are gray in a velvety way. Suits, shoes and bad news,  beggars' hats and alley cats, Skin of a mole and a worn slipper sole. Content is gray and sleepiness, too they wear gray suede gloves when they're touching you...

Blue is a heron, a sapphire ring, you can smell blue in many a thing: Gentian and Larkspur, forget-me-nots, too. And if you listen you can hear blue in wind over water   and wherever flax blooms and when evening steps into lonely rooms. Cold is blue; flame shot from a welding torch Is, too hot, wild, screaming, blistering blue and on winter mornings the dawns are blue...

"The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance." - Cicero - 55 BC

Brown is the color of a country road, back of a turtle, back of a toad. Brown is cinnamon and morning toast and the good smell of the Sunday roast. Brown is the color of work and the sound of a river, Brown is bronze and a bow and a quiver. Brown is the house on the edge of town where wind is tearing the shingles down. Brown is a freckle, Brown is a mole Brown is the Earth when you dig a hole. Brown is the hair on many a head Brown is chocolate and gingerbread. Brown is a feeling you get inside when wondering makes your mind grow wide. Brown is a leather shoe and a good glove -- -- Brown is as comfortable as love.

Black is kind, it covers up the run-down street, the broken cup. Black is charcoal and patio grill, the soot spots on the window sill. Black is a feeling hard to explain like suffering but without the pain. Black is licorice and patent leather shoes Black is the print in the news. Black is beauty in its deepest form, the darkest cloud in a thunderstorm. Think of what starlight and lamplight would lack, diamonds and fireflies, if they couldn't lean against Black...