“The imagination demands an alternate world and through the writing of the Love Song one sits and dines with loss and longing, madness and melancholy, ecstasy, magic and joy with equal measure of respect and gratitude." – Nick Cave

I just wanted to share that. It's taken from his lecture, "The Secret Life of the Love Song." I highly recommend it.

Nothing on earth is harder to get past then preconceived notions.

Saying, I love you.

I was lucky enough to have parents that gave me roots and wings, and fortunate enough to get to thank my dad for that before he left me. In a letter, or card actually, opening up on the page has always been easier for me then doing it in person. I think the first time I told my dad I loved him, and he told me he loved me too, was the last time: in the hospital, the night before he died. I'm still thanking Mom, mainly through actions but the words are getting easier to say.
Despite what they say, words often speak louder, and are much less time-consuming.

Renos

In the past, when I‘ve done renovations on other people’s houses, it always felt like I was getting to know the family through the house, like they left an imprint in the wood. And now, renovating my Mom’s house, it feels that I’m getting to know my family. This was, after all, the house my father was born in. As I rip-up all the tile and carpeting and get back to the pine, and peel through the different layers of wallpaper, I am getting back to what it would have been like when my dad was just a child and my grandparents, aunt and uncles, all lived here. My ancestry is farmers, teachers, and cheese makers. Giving the world nourishment for body and mind and adding to it a little something to savour.
I found a little patch of the spaceship wallpaper, in my old room, from when I was a kid, under a couple layers, and the stuffed crocheted mouse that ‘d I put in the wall to scare any real ones off.
That was really cool, too.