Quoting Nora

TESS

"I always feel so cut off here, more so than when I'm in the field hundreds of miles away. 

I imagine we could establish a colony on Mars and I wouldn't hear about it until it was all over."

"A colony on Mars," he murmured, feeling his stomach sink as he glanced at the paper again. "I think you've got about a hundred years to go."

"Sorry I'll miss it."

Time Was

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By ESO/S. Brunier - http://www.eso.org/public/images/eso0932a/, CC BY 4.0, 
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9559670

"I have been blessed to have been a professional astronomer during the period of time that started with—'well there probably are planets around other stars, but boy, they're just too hard to find and we'll never know'—to where we are today, which is we know there are planets around almost every star," says Paul Hertz, the Director of the Astrophysics Division at NASA. "In just 25 years, this field of science has gone from theoretical to very, very applied and very, very data-driven."

Popular Mechanics

_______________

"Sure. I probably would have gone on being happy here, but I discovered the world. 
What do you think of the world, J.T.?"

"Which one?"

With a laugh, she gave the popper an extra shake. "I should have known better 
than to ask an astro-whatever. Your mind's probably in space half the time."

Times Change

With his eyes half-closed, he imagined… the endless sweep of stars, the pure black of space, the beautiful symmetry of orbiting moons and planets. "Don't you ever think about the worlds up there, just out of reach?"

 There was the vastness of space, seductive and compelling. 
There were stars, clusters of them, and what was surely a distant planet. 
There was a blackness, an absolute blackness, that spread for miles. 
The ship seemed to be hurtling toward it. 


Time Was

______________________

___________________

He believed in chance, in the purest sense of the word—the unpredictable possibility of existence.
 He was here now to prove it. In addition to his calculations, 
the technology at his command, his knowledge and his computations, 
he needed one element that any explorer required for success. 
Luck. 
He was alone now in the vast, silent sea of space, beyond the traffic patterns, 
beyond the last charted quadrant. There was an intimacy here between man and his dreams 
that could never be achieved in a laboratory. 

Times Change

Psychology of Color and Emotion

Alan glanced around. The interest he'd felt for the woman was only increased now by her living quarters. 

It was a hodgepodge of colors that should have clashed but didn't. 

Bold greens, vivid blues, and the occasional slash of scarlet. 

Bohemian. 

Perhaps flamboyant was a better description. 

Either adjective fit, just as either fit the woman who lived there. 



All the Possibilities

__________________

By Serge Melki from Indianapolis, USA (This time she was snatched) 
[CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Goethe on the Psychology of Color and Emotion

His most fascinating theories explore the psychological impact of different colors on mood and emotion — ideas derived by the poet’s intuition, which are part entertaining accounts bordering on superstition, part prescient insights corroborated by hard science some two centuries later, and part purely delightful manifestations of the beauty of language.

BRAIN PICKINGS

__________________

She had on those high, sharp-heeled boots, faded jeans, and a watch cap, bright as a cardinal, pulled over her hair.

She’d wound on a scarf that made him think of Joseph’s coat of many colors, which added a
jauntiness with her coat opened. 

Under it was a sweater the color of ripe blueberries.

There was something about her, he mused, that would have been bright and eye-catching even in mud brown.



Blood Brothers

How Seeing affects Eating

By sunny mama - cauliflower crust pizza slices, CC BY-SA 2.0, 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39964349

How much food people consume can be influenced by subtle cues about weight 

that aren't consciously perceived, according to a novel 

chocolate-tasting study in the journal Appetite.

WSJ 

________________________

“"This is because you think if you eat half my slice of pizza it doesn’t count.”"

"“Well, it doesn’t, technically."”

Blood Brothers

Unsexy Things You Wear That Actually Turn Men On

She turned. He’d never seen her look less than perfectly groomed, he realized. Even after they made love she somehow managed to look perfect.

Now her hair was standing in tufts, her eyes were damp and a little wild. Her feet were bare, and there was a coffee stain splattered over the front of the WORLD ’S BEST MOM T-shirt she wore.

Embarrassed color flooded her cheeks even as she lifted her hands in a helpless gesture.

He’d been attracted to the stylish, organized attorney. Seduced by the warm, confident woman. Intrigued by the widowed single mother who seemed to effortlessly juggle all the balls in the air.~

And to his utter astonishment, he fell in love with the messy, frustrated, unhappy woman with toys scattered at her feet.

Birthright 

_________________

A dude explains the unexpected items of clothing he loves seeing you in

You probably have a pretty clear idea of what you think is sexy and date-appropriate (lipstick, heels, cute dresses) and what falls on the frumpy side of the spectrum (sweats, turtlenecks, button-downs). But you might be surprised by what turns guys on.

Women's Health

_________________

Her hair was damp. She’d pulled it back from her face in a sleek tail, and he could see it was'n’t quite dry. He could smell the girly shampoo and soap, and the scents wound their way into him until the muscle in his gut tightened in response.

She wore fuzzy purple socks, black flannel pants, and a hot pink sweatshirt that announced: 

T.G.I.F.

THANK GOD I’M FEMALE.

He could add his own thanks.

Blood Brothers

What We've Learned From Mom About Home

He passed through the dining room where, naturally, the table was already set. She’d used festive
plates, which meant she wasn’t going for elegant or drop-in casual. Tented linen napkins, tea lights in cobalt rounds, inside a centerpiece of winter berries.


Even during the worst time, even during the Seven, he could come here and there would be fresh
flowers artfully arranged, furniture free of dust and gleaming with polish, and intriguing little soaps in the dish in the downstairs powder room.

Even hell didn’t cause Frannie Hawkins to break stride.

Maybe, Cal thought as he wandered into the living room, that was part of the reason—even the
most important reason—he got through it himself. Because whatever else happened, his mother would  be maintaining her own brand of order and sanity.

Blood Brothers

______________________

Houzzers recall the special traits, insights and habits of their mothers

 

What makes a house, a home? For many of us, our mother is intrinsically part of the answer. Whether it's the smell of lemon furniture polish when we walk through the door, new curtains in the kitchen for every season, crisp and clean laundry hanging on the clothesline, steaming food sitting on the kitchen table or simply the presence of loved ones, Mom is usually responsible for what we equate with "home." 

HOUZZ

______________________

It was the same, Seth thought. It didn't matter what color the walls were painted or if the old sofa had been replaced, if a new lamp stood on the table. It was the same because it felt the same.
The dog snaked around his legs and made a beeline for the kitchen.
"I want you to sit down." She nodded to the kitchen table, under which Witless was sprawled, happily gnawing on a hunk of rope.

Chesapeake Blue

a thousand years

"I came through time for you, Libby. Don't ever, ever think I made a mistake."
She shook her head. "I'm afraid you'll think so."
"'Time is… Time was… Time is past'," he murmured. "My time is in the past, Libby. With you."
Her eyes filmed over again. "I love you so much, Caleb. I'll make you happy."
"I'm counting on it."

Time Was

________________

Christina Perry

And all along I believed I would find you
Time has brought your heart to me
I have loved you for a thousand years
I love you for a thousand more

_________________

 "I wanted you to have something from your time." 

He felt a little foolish, not ready to admit that he had
spent months scouring antique shops. "When I saw this, it was… well, like fate. Don't cry."
"I have to." She sniffled, then raised her drenched eyes to his. 

"It survived. All this time."
"The best things do."

Times Change

celebrate your big day as if it's your last...

“I burned his birthday cake completely forgot about it, never heard the timer. Might’ve burned the house down if Cal himself hadn’t smelled the burning. So he never got his ice planet or his ten candles. I hate remembering that. I burned his cake and he never got to blow out his birthday candles. Isn’t that silly?”

“No, ma’am. No,” Quinn said with feeling when Frannie looked at her, “It’s not.”

Blood Brothers

 

________________

...it may well be

A study of 2.4 million people suggests the chance of dying is higher on your birthday

Birthdays are a time for celebration. But, in truth, after a certain age few people greet yet another birthday with unconfined joy.

According to scientists, the flatness we feel at the passing of another year is the least of our problems. It emerges that we are 14 per cent more likely to die on our birthday, according to new research based on a study of more than two million people.

INDEPENDENT

______________________________

She took his face in her hands, kissed him. “Happy birthday.”

“I keep hearing that.”

“Expect to hear it more. I baked you a cake.”

“No joke?”

“A seven-layer cake—as promised.”

The Pagan Stone