good night 2010

(end of december 2009)

(end of december 2010)

I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow. But through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing.

~ Agatha Christie ~

I don't make new year's resolutions, so I don't know if I kept any or not. Regardless, it was a full year.

I lost my father and his brother, my Uncle Don. I lost two friends. I published a book that I wrote and illustrated it with photos I took. I put new strings on my guitar--but haven't played it yet. I went to Arizona, Hawaii, and Idaho. I built a worm bin, cold frames, and valve box.

2010, I can't say I am sorry to see you go. I hope your brother, 2011, is a little kinder and gentler--but at least as much fun as you were.

The end.

love thursday 12.30.10 ~ grace...still

I do not understand the mystery of grace -- only that it meets us where we are and does not leave us where it found us.

Anne Lamott

2010 brought me the word "Grace." It is still 2010 and I am still enjoying the fruits of that focus. This has been a grace-filled year. I continue to heal and to have all I need right now.

Tomorrow is a new right now. So is the day after that and the one after that and so on. I don't know what each of those right nows will hold. All I know is this one. In this one, I am held in grace and enough.

Even though this year has one more calendar day to it, I expect that knowing grace will stay with me. What a legacy Grace shall have!

There's a new word coming--and oh, please God, may there also be a new world coming along with it.

Happy Love Thursday, y'all.

peace

Ultimately, humanity is one, and this small planet is our only home. If we are to protect this home of ours, each of us needs to feel a vivid sense of universal altruism. It is only this feeling that can remove the self-centered motives that cause people to deceive and misuse one another. If you have a sincere and open heart, you naturally feel self-worth and confidence, and there is no need to be fearful of others.

HH Dalai Lama

My Ordinary friend, Kathryn, told me about this site.

"Only Love Prevails."

Their idea is that it takes a small number of us (proportionally) to effect a shift in attitude, consciousness, direction. They are making it easy for those of us who are wanting to create the paradigm shift to be known to each other.

I am already doing many of their suggestions. I stopped watching TV about 10 years ago. I stopped reading the newspaper several years ago. Now I skim the headlines of an online headline email and read only what calls to me--not much negativity gets through. I can't tolerate listening to the news on the radio.

I am working toward changing my thinking and my speaking. While I have not arrived where I hope to be ultimately, I eliminate some negativity daily. Yay me. Yay us. Yay for the planet.

My latest challenge is finding movies that I want to watch. Violence, sexual assault, drugs, violence, crudity, poor production values, unintelligent and unintelligible dialog, dysfunction, mean people, crime, war, violence--did I mention violence?

Watching movies in the evening is my major form of entertainment. I am unwilling to subject myself to a continual onslaught of traumatic images. Not. Entertaining. (May the movie industry find this site soon, too...please.)

So, join me, please. Let's make peace. Together we can.

snake oil

(zippy, age 51)

In allopathic medicine, however, we tend to not be open to other treatment modalities. If a treatment doesn’t fit our guidelines of thought, we criticize it and five or ten years down the road, we suddenly learn that it has merit. This sort of thing happened with snake oil. People today call remedies that don’t work ‘snake oil,’ but most people don’t know that real snake oil happens to have the highest concentration of omega-3 fatty acids of any substance! So snake oil really was a valid treatment; it lowered inflammation, because of its high EPA/DHA content.

Peter J Muran, MD

Even better still is the chimpanzee treatment. It always worked for what ailed me. Still does.

Take some EPA/DHA and cuddle with your favorite animal. Doctor's orders.

electro-carols

Yes, I am almost done with Christmas, but this one is too good to pass up. It's worth a watch and listen.

And for those of you who couldn't see the post on Christmas day, I edited in the link so you can go to the site and watch the video. It's worth it.

i learn a lot from my cats

True happiness comes from having a sense of inner peace and contentment, which in turn must be achieved by cultivating altruism, love and compassion, and by eliminating anger, selfishness and greed.

HH Dalai Lama

This is post #900 on this blog. Thanks for coming back, my friends. Hope your holiday season continues to be full of peace, contentment, and love.

jesus has two daddies OR the nativity: the remake

For some reason, this is not showing properly on Internet Explorer and I can't seem to find the appropriate link to send you directly to the page...so, please go to www.godtube.com and look for "The Christmas Story - as told by the cutest kids." They are. It is.

peace on earth

(the stockings were hung by the chimney with care)

I think that people want peace so much that one of these days government had better get out of their way and let them have it.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

I got a fortune cookie with no fortune.

Is that anything like a lump of coal?

love thursday 12.23.10 ~ love and well-being

Even our physical structure seems more suited to feelings of love and compassion. We can see how a calm, affectionate, wholesome state of mind benefits our health and physical well-being. Conversely, feelings of frustration, fear, agitation, and anger can be destructive to our health. This is why we are impelled to seek happiness.

HH Dalai Lama

May you feel enough love and compassion that you feel safe and comfortable lying on your back, sleeping with your paw over your eyes while someone takes your pictures.

Happy Love Thursday.

7th day of the galactic cycle

We do not think ourselves into a new way of living as much as we live ourselves into new ways of thinking.

Richard Rohr

And now we are in the 7th day of the Galactic Cycle of the Mayan calendar. The 7th day is the day that God rested. It is the time of reseeding and the completion of the cycle, as we get ready to start an even greater cycle: The Time of the New Heaven and the New Earth.

Starting February 11, 2011 we enter The Universal Cycle. Still in the 7th day of the Galactic Cycle, we now enter the next level of the calendar--a new stage of evolution for humankind. Here each day and each night lasts 20 days. In essence, every 3 weeks, the energy and focus shifts.

Will we really transform into a world of peace and forgiveness?

One can hope.

truth

During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.

George Orwell

According to the Mayan calendar, the 6th Night (from which we just emerged) is all about honesty--bringing forth the truth that has been hidden...making the truth known in place of lies.

Let the revolution begin! At home. At work. In politics. In religion. Let it be.

i pray my dream will come true....

prayer

(st. damien @ painted church in hawaii)

I pray every single second of my life; not on my knees, but with my work. My prayer is to lift woman to equality with man. Work and worship are one with me. I can not imagine a God of the universe made happy by my getting down on my knees.

Susan B. Anthony

There is more than one way to pray. Susan B. Anthony with her work to lift woman to equality with man...St. Damien to care for and minister to the lepers.

I pray with my eyes open and with them closed. I pray standing, sitting, lying down, and--yes, kneeling sometimes. I don't think it matters how we pray, but that we pray. And I don't think it matters how we worship, but that we do.

May your worship be deep and sweet today.

update: nativity today

insomnia

When I am with you, we stay up all night.
When you’re not here, I can’t go to sleep.
Praise God for those two insomnias!
And the difference between them.

Rumi

I know which one I would rather have.

love thursday 12.16.10 ~ barriers to love

(two years ago)

Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.

Rumi

Some days it's not a pretty sight. Love is. Love permeates everything. It's there for the taking, sharing, giving.

Lately, I see that I am the barrier. My mood, my thoughts, my attitude, my level of energy or well-being--any of those (and all of them at one time or another) get in the way of my choosing to be...to behave in a loving way.

Maybe--just maybe I'll figure it out before my time here is done.

Live like Jesus did, and the world will listen.

Mahatma Gandhi

Oh, yeah. That one.

Happy Love Thursday!

here she comes

Not only is another world possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.

Arundhati Roy

And on a not so quiet day, sometimes it is all I can do to keep from getting bucked off before the buzzer.

this is laugh out loud funny for all you cat lovers

monday morning list

1. Drink coffee.

2. Plan my day.

3. Feed felines.

4. Feed rodents (i.e., squirrels).

5. Be grateful for the peaceable kingdom.

6. Feed myself.

7. Be grateful for enough. Right now.

8. Try to think of something witty to say.

9. Regroup.

10. Simply. Be. Grateful.

a christmas gift

Here's a little gift for you. If you have been to preview the book on blurb.com, you have noticed that only the first 15 pages were available for viewing. Now you can read the rest of the story...

The Man Who Became a Tree by Wanda Tucker

If you'd like to give this as a Christmas gift, you still have time!

Happy Sunday!

naryanan krishnan: a companion to the forgotten

apologetics

A man went to trim his hair and beard. As always happens, he and the barber chatted about this and that, until--commenting on a newspaper article about street kids--the barber stated:

- As you can see, this tragedy shows that God doesn’t exist. Don’t you read the papers? So many people suffer, abandoned children, there’s so much crime. If God existed, there wouldn’t be so much suffering.

- You know something? Barbers don’t exist.

- What do you mean, don’t exist? I’m here, and I’m a barber.

- They don’t exist! – insisted the man. – Because if they did, there wouldn’t be people with such long beards and such tangled hair.

- I can guarantee that barbers do exist. But these people never come in here.

- Exactly! So, in answer to your question, God exists, too. It just so happens that people don’t go to Him. If they did, they would be more giving, and there wouldn’t be so much misery in the world.

from Paulo Coelho's blog

love thursday 12.09.10 ~ love in action

As long as we observe love for others and respect for their rights and dignity in our daily lives, then whether we are learned or unlearned, whether we believe in the Buddha or God, follow some religion or none at all, as long as we have compassion for others and conduct ourselves with restraint out of a sense of responsibility, there is no doubt we will be happy.

HH Dalai Lama

Love is action based in attitude. It isn't a feeling or even a belief. It is a decision to rise to the highest possible level--to interact with integrity, respect, and compassion. Being loving toward others--whether they agree with us or not--brings good. To us. To them. To those around us.

And good is...well...good.

Happy Love Thursday!

uncle don and dad

(uncle don & dad...in that order)

"Enjoy your memories," says the old man. "But don’t forget that memory is like salt: the right amount brings out the flavour in food, too much ruins it. If you live in the past all the time, you’ll find yourself with no present to remember."

from Paulo Coelho's blog

Today would have been my dad's 88th birthday. He left this life in January of this year.

This picture is of the last time Dad and Uncle Don were together. Uncle Don had taken a tumble the night before and had a shiner, as you can see, but he was determined to visit his little brother. Oh, how happy he was to be there!

Yesterday, Uncle Don left this life. He would have been 90 next month. How sad to see him go! He was a good man.

So now, these two brothers are together again.

Good night, you princes of Oregon.

ponder this: poverty

We often see poverty as an economic and social issue, but we must have a deeper understanding. In the ultimate analysis, poverty is death. It is unjust and early death. It is the destruction of persons, of people, and nations.

Gustavo Gutierrez

Quick post today. I am on the road. More tomorrow...I hope.

Be well, my friends.

i am what i am

Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are.

Malcolm Forbes

I am. I am learning.

Oh, how painful it is to see what a shaming culture we are. If we are not like everybody else, we are shamed--with a view to being shamed into compliance and conformity.

That's our reptile brain at work. There is research showing that if one of a group of reptiles is somehow made to look different (for example paint a red spot on its head), the others will attack it.

"Look...it's not us! Kill it."

Truly, we do have the capacity to choose the high road. We can learn to manage our reptile urges and appreciate our differences. Sometimes, accepting our own differences is the best place to start.

Believe it or not, diversity makes us stronger.

change the world one interaction at a time

Too much of a self-centered attitude creates mistrust and suspicion in others, which can in turn lead to fear. But if you have more of an open mind, and you cultivate a sense of concern for others' well-being, then, no matter what others' attitudes are, you can keep your inner peace.

HH Dalai Lama

Today at the post office, I pulled into my parking space unfettered on either side by other cars and threw open the door as one does when preparing to disembark. Then I heard a horn honk. Someone was pulling into the space next to my door. I pulled the door close and finished gathering what I needed to mail my package before getting out of the car.

It so happens, the other driver got out of her car at the same time, so I smiled at her and said, "Sorry about that. I didn't see you coming."

She grunted. "Close." No smile. No engagement.

Her reaction bothered me. Yet, I chose to take the high road. I was pleasant. I apologized for my obliviousness to her arrival. Truth be told, I wanted her to share that interaction with me. I wanted her to acknowledge that she was behind me in my blind spot. I wanted her to engage with me and smile back, letting the whole thing roll off both of our backs. I wanted her to meet me half way.

She didn't.

Sigh.

All any of us can do is our part.

morning view in my room

jackass what?

Don't try to win over the haters. You're not the jackass whisperer.

Scott Stratten

Happy Friday! Have a great weekend.

love thursday 12.02.10 ~ things that amused me on wednesday when i thought it was love thursday

If you want to see the Love Thursday post, go here.

'Tis catalog season at my house. I look through them even though I rarely order anything any more. Even at Christmas--due to extenuating circumstances--I'm not spending much this year, but sometimes it is fun to look:

T-shirts...

"In Dog Beers I've Only Had One"

"Think Outside The Quadrilateral Parallelogram"

"With Enough Thrust Pigs Fly Just Fine"

"I have parenting down to a science. (every day's an experiment)"

"After Monday & Tuesday even the calendar says W.T.F."

"Meddle Not In The Affairs Of Dragons, For You Are Crunchy And Good With Ketchup"

"Never Moon A Werewolf"

"I used to think beer was bad for me--so I gave up thinking"


And on another note:

The Salvation Army bell ringer at my local Fred Meyer is a very pleasant man with a wonderful voice. He was singing Christmas songs a capella and on my way out of the store I joined him for a few lines with harmony. He gave me a smile and a thumbs up.

As life would have it, I had to go back to Fred's for a second trip today. When I entered, he was singing and I smiled at him as I passed. When I left the store, he was waiting for me and asked me to sing with him. What a joy that was! I might just have to go back and hang out with him.

Happy Holidays!

love thursday 12.01.10 ~ fundamental need for love

Our life depends on others so much that at the root of our existence is a fundamental need for love. That is why it is good to cultivate an authentic sense of responsibility and concern for the welfare of others.

HH Dalai Lama

We all need to be loved, but we also need to love. Both are fundamental needs. That's why businesses that do good also do well.

As we evolve, we see that profit isn't enough. Our work has to have meaning to keep us engaged and one thing all businesses have in common is relationships--within the company, with customers, with vendors.

I want to work with businesses of all sizes to help them bring their values to the forefront of their enterprise. Treating all of these relationships with respect and love and compassion will bring success...for all parties involved.

Happy Love Thursday, Everyone!

priorities

My weaknesses have always been food and men - in that order.

Dolly Parton

At least she has her priorities straight.

god help me...please

Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be.

Thomas à Kempis

Imitation of Christ

I watched a movie tonight called Rosenstrasse. During WWII in Germany, the Jewish husbands of Aryan women were protected--for a while. Then these men, too, were rounded up and held. Their wives held vigil outside the building where the husbands were being held and demanded their release. According to the movie, the men and women being held at Rosenstrasse returned to their families.

At one point in the movie, Lena (the protagonist Aryan wife) approached her father (a German man of some prestige and power who was an anti-Semite) and begged him for help. He refused. Not only did he turn his back on her literally, but he also denied the stories of camps and disowned his own daughter for having married a Jew.

In that moment watching the film, I felt such powerlessness and incomprehension for his reaction. I am not proud of my response. All I could feel was hatred. No compassion. No understanding of his fear or worries. None. I couldn't get there. And the hatred I felt was not just directed at his behavior, but at him.

Yes, I know it was a movie and this was not a real person. However, there were many real people who did the very things that this role portrayed. God help me. I am not as full of lovingkindness as the Dalai Lama who prays for the Chinese--the very people who ripped him from his homeland.

So I must turn toward my own shortcomings with lovingkindness. May I find peace. May I find compassion for the woundedness of others. May I find enough that it spills over to those around me.

May it be so.

farewell, oceana

We will miss you.

growing up is hard to do

Everything we think, say, and do has an immediate effect on everyone and everything else.

Ed and Deb Shapiro

Day by day, I work to be aware of my words and deeds...and thoughts. I know that sometimes the awareness comes after the words have already left my lips. Sucking them back in doesn't work. I own them. I apologize.

Sometimes I get tired of apologizing.

Sometimes I want others to know that their thoughts, words, and deeds affect me, too.

It's so simple--and not.

how to get rid of enemies

I destroy my enemies when I make them my friends.

Abraham Lincoln

I could use a few more friends. Couldn't you?

I just finished reading Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos.com. He talked about Zappos and how it came to be the successful company it is today. Recently Amazon acquired Zappos for $1.2 billion in stock. Zappos has been in business for 10 years.

One element of their success is that they treat everyone kindly--as if they are friends. That includes their vendors. Competition and squeezing the last drop out of a negotiation don't move business forward. Cooperation does.

Pretty simple, don't you think?

Works for me.

love thursday 11.25.10 ~ thanksgiving

Random love items and thankfulness list:

Animals do feel love. No doubt about it.

No accidents...

In the cold weather, the flexible tube from the high efficiency furnace pump to the outside freezes and the pump tends to overheat. I have to unhook the outside line from the pump and use a shorter length of tubing into a 5 gallon bucket in order to keep the garage from flooding.

For some reason, I can't find the extra piece of tubing that I usually have on hand. Okay...if you saw my garage you would understand why I can't find it--but that is beside the point.

Next door, a furnace repair truck is sitting in the driveway. I walked over and asked for a piece of tubing. What he asked for is that I pass his card along to someone. So, I'm doing that here: Service First Heating & Cooling, Inc. is a father son shop. The phone is 360.907.7683 and email is service1st@yahoo.com.

Thankful for...

...enough food--today, tomorrow, the next day, and probably several days after that.

...time with Mom.

...passable roads.

...help putting up the Christmas lights.

...two orange boys and an old tortoiseshell girl.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you.

authentic you

If you are what you should be, then you will set the world on fire.

St. Catherine of Siena

Gives new meaning to being a firecracker, doesn't it?

when did you decide?

who's crying now?

(poor banana after a freeze)

(and right next door, blackbird has a new baby)

I have a strict policy that nobody cries alone in my presence.

Dolly Parton

It's coming. Snow. We had a precursor today. Some fell, but none stayed. Just look at poor banana. I walked out the door this morning and what you see above is what I saw. Droopy. Glassy. Very sad.

And just a couple feet away, Blackbird has a new leaf opening. What a weird weather year this has been. I doubt that I can save the baby leaf. I just hope I can save the plant through the winter.

As you can see, I have wrapped the base of the plants with rope lights. They do a stellar job of keeping the ground warm enough. I also have to figure out a cover for banana this year. The one I used last year won't work because it is too short. I might build a teepee wrapped with clear plastic to let the light in. For now, Blackbird has a 5 gallon bucket on his head at night. I'll remove it during the day.

We also put rope lights inside the cold frames. Here's to the grand experiment....

give

"If you have two coats," he replied, "give one to the poor. If you have extra food, give it away to those who are hungry."

Luke 3:11

Over and over, we are asked to help those in need. Give. Feed the hungry. Take care of the widows, orphans, aliens--anyone among us in need.

Be kind.

Treat others as you would like to be treated.

And now, there is research to support this idea. Giving to others is good for us.

What will it take for us to get this through our thick skulls?

I just hope we can get it before it is too late.

raw faith

Go see Raw Faith...

...a documentary about the beloved Portland Unitarian Universalist Minister, the Rev. Dr. Marilyn Sewell.

It will be showing in Portland at the Hollywood Theatre on Saturday, November 27th at 5:00 and 7:00; Sunday, November 28th at 5:00 and 7:00; and Monday, November 29th at 7:00.

And let me know what you think.

After the showing Marilyn and George did a Q&A. She reported that she told the director that what she had to offer to the film was her honesty. She is honest and vulnerable throughout and I found it very moving.

holographic universe

(mijo hanging out)

What is in one is in the whole, and therefore, ultimately,
Each soul is responsible for the whole world.

Gary Zukav

"He's got the whole world in His hands..." just started running through my head. Are we not His hands on earth?

love thursday 11.18.10 ~ healing

Just a brief post today to say thanks for all the love and good wishes. I am feeling better. If I have to have a bug, a 24 hour bug is the way to go.

flu season

So, to prevent fatigue and worry, the first rule is: Rest often. Rest before you get tired.

Dale Carnegie

I'm glad I did a load of laundry yesterday so I would have enough clean underwear today.

I ache.

I'm cold. I want to be in the hot box with Misi.

Nausea.

Headache.

I drank clear liquids and ate bland food.

I took a salt bath.

I used the magic healing machine.

Tomorrow will be much better...except for that storm that's coming in. Not. Ready. For. Snow. Please.

indifference

The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference.

Elie Wiesel

Let me tell you something I am not indifferent about: Choice.

I believe in choice, just like the Divine believes in Free Will. I get to choose. YES!

Have you been to the grocery store lately? How many toothpastes or types of corn chips do I need to choose from? Really.

That's one of the things that makes Trader Joe's successful, you know. Fewer types of peanut butter...choose one...keep shopping. Seriously. They pre-shop. This is not a Trader Joe's commercial. I rarely shop there.

I'll let all you grocers in on a tidbit--I go for quality...not just price. So today, when I was looking for organic, non-GMO corn chips...you didn't have what I wanted. Fifty kinds of corn chips and you didn't have one I really wanted.

Seriously.

keep walking

If we are facing in the right direction, all we have to do is keep on walking.

Buddhist Proverb

And since it is Monday, I must be headed west.

contradancing

Went dancing and had a great time. I do believe I will do it again. It's like square dancing without the square.

And...I ran into an old friend, quite serendipitously. Lovely. Thank you, Universe.

fitting in

I look just like the girls next door... if you happen to live next door to an amusement park.

Dolly Parton

things that make me cry

bagpipers playing ceremonial tunes

color guards

sincere thanks

sacrifice recognized

the anthems of each branch of the armed services

seeing others tear up

watching an F-16 fly over

watching a Marine in dress blues bestow a medal on a fellow Marine in camouflage who has lost both hands and part of his forearms

seeing the same two Marines hug

seeing the MC and presenter "shake hands" with the man with no hands without missing a beat--not so much as a flicker of the eyelid

love thursday 11.11.10 ~ veterans' day

A father was trying to read the newspaper, but his little son kept pestering him. Finally, the father grew tired of this and, tearing a page from the newspaper – one that bore a map of the world – he cut it into several pieces and handed them to his son.

"Right, now you’ve got something to do. I’ve given you a map of the world and I want to see if you can put it back together correctly."

He resumed his reading, knowing that the task would keep the child occupied for the rest of the day. However, a quarter of an hour later, the boy returned with the map.

"Has your mother been teaching you geography?" asked his father in astonishment.

"I don’t even know what that is," replied the boy. "But there was a photo of a man on the other side of the page, so I put the man back together and found I’d put the world back together too."

from Paulo Coelho

Today I am attending a ceremony to honor the World War II veterans. In my heart, I honor all veterans.

I am mostly a peaceful person, so some would think it strange that I honor those who have served in the armed forces. For me, the two are not mutually exclusive. In fact, I consider myself to have an inner Samurai. The desire of the Samurai is not to have to fight. But if one must fight, the cause should be just and honorable.

I honor our warriors who have served during peace and those who have served during conflict. I honor them for doing what they believe in.

And I thank them for their time, their service--and some of them, for giving their lives.

Thank you for trying to put us all back together.

a sobering thought

A sobering thought: what if, at this very moment, I am living up to my full potential?

Jane Wagner

somehow the fit is not the same

(remember this?)

He who smiles rather than rages is always the stronger.

Japanese proverb

(updated version: same computer...same cat)

echolilia: a father's photographic conversation with his autistic son

This is amazing.

fall back

Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia.

Charles Schulz

American cartoonist
(1922 - 2000)

I decided to wait until Sunday morning to turn the clocks back so I wouldn't stay up later because I knew it was really earlier. It didn't work. I still stayed up later. Oh, well.

Lord, help me through the dark afternoons. Bring on the festivals of lights.

all right, everybody--listen up...

Nature is cruel. We don't have to be.

Temple Grandin

an open letter to the white right, on the occasion of your recent, successful temper tantrum by tim wise

Worth reading.

love thursday 11.04.20 ~ vulnerability

The most excellent Brené Brown:

post election

Wonder if I will ever live in the tropics....

Oh, wait!

If I just wait long enough, I can live in the tropics without ever having to move.

and another thing...

...I know that you think you are doing a good deed by stopping in the middle of the road to let someone pull out from a side street. HOWEVER, have you considered the 12 people lined up behind you waiting while you wait? Do us all a favor...follow the rules of the road and take your right of way.

...Of course, you are sick of political ads and the negativity generated during the season. We all are. HOWEVER, not voting really doesn't solve the problem. Turn off the sound when the ads come on TV--better yet...turn off the TV. Do your own research. All politicians are not the problem. Many of them are true public servants and we would be in a world of hurt without them.

...I used to say, "I'm not afraid of dying. I'm afraid of pain." HOWEVER, I live with pain every day. Some days are not so bad. What I am really afraid of is suffering.

what i did on halloween...

...went grocery shopping

...dug a patch of earth and mixed it with straw for the potatoes

...prepared the garden beds by raking the earth level and pressing the sides of the mounds

...put new handles on the newest cold frames so SO can open them

...vacuumed the leaves from the lawn

...ate macaroni and cheese

...blew the leaves from the sidewalk, driveway, front lawn, and deck

...hung upside down

...ate candy


You?

cold frames from re-used materials

Happy All Hallow's Eve!

let's just be clear about this...

...Vegans don't eat any animal products (including honey and dairy). Vegetarians don't eat flesh of any kind but may be lacto-ovo (eat eggs and dairy). Some will not eat anything with a face (i.e., will eat shrimp) and some will not eat mammals (i.e., will eat fish and birds).

...I cannot recognize you on Facebook--or anywhere else--by pictures of your animals or your favorite celebrities or anything else that is not your face!

...Christian values, as I grew up understanding them, have to do with love and kindness and respect--NOT telling others what to do, judging them for what they do, or restricting their right to choose what to do.

...Just because information is touted by someone on TV it doesn't mean it is true. Much of what gets passed on as truth is opinion. Learn the difference.

...The same is true for the Internet.

...While not voting is your right just as much as voting is, the decision not to vote is passive and (in my opinion) removes one's right to complain about who gets voted in and how they are performing.

...Turn signals--they have a purpose. If yours is blinking, I expect you to turn toward the one that blinks. If neither of them is blinking--don't turn.

...Health care reform and insurance premiums: I know we don't all agree about the new plan. That's okay. But here's the deal...even without the reform, those of us who have insurance are paying for those who don't have insurance and aren't paying. With the reform, more people will be able to get insurance who couldn't because of pre-existing conditions. It may not be as good as I hoped, but it is not as bad as some of you think it is. So let's work to make it something we can all want and live with.

...Just because someone hasn't had insurance doesn't mean automatically that they are lazy.

...Some of the above is fact and some is opinion.

111111

Want to see that closer?

Yep. There it is.

111,111 miles on my beloved convertible.

May we all be so blessed.

love thursday 10.28.10 ~ gift of the self

(the hand is simply for perspective.
banana is now above the window by at least a foot.)

True love is not naïve, but is a conscious and intelligent gift of the self.

Richard Rohr

And how many of us truly love ourselves enough to believe that we are a gift worth giving?

choose life

We humans have choices about how we treat the natural environment and one another. We can be apathetic to destruction, or we can take a step of genuine faith by awakening from spiritual torpor and fighting for the lives of one another and the planet we depend on.

Karen Baker-Fletcher

speak up

Charity is no substitute for justice withheld.

Saint Augustine

driving

Driving the car.

Driving rain.

Driving thoughts.

More later.

road trip

(triple numbers--hawaii license plate)

Each of us, famous or infamous, is a role model for somebody, and if we aren't, we should behave as though we are -- cheerful, kind, loving, courteous. Because you can be sure someone is watching and taking deliberate and diligent notes.

Maya Angelou

What would be better than a road trip in Hawaii?

random thoughts upon entering the weekend

The purpose of the heart is to know yourself to be yourself and yet one with God.

Edgar Cayce

I sold a couple of my books today. Yay me.

Mom and I are going on a road trip this weekend. We get to see my sister and niece and two of her kids. It will be a short visit with a quick turn around, but we'll have fun, I'm sure. We always do when we are together.

It's kind of sad when our Friday night date is to go to the office to pick up something I forgot.

HoneyBoy didn't bring in a live (or dead) critter tonight. Hallelujah.

It's going to rain on our road trip.

Oh, well.

Isn't this fun?

where

All day I think about it, then at night I say it. Where did I come from, and what am I supposed to be doing? I have no idea. My soul is from elsewhere, I’m sure of that, and I intend to end up there.

Rumi

love thursday 10.21.10 ~ in love

What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything. It will decide what gets you out of bed in the mornings, what you do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything.

Father Pedro Arrupe

1907-1991
Spanish Priest, Doctor and Social Activist

I am in love with that little guy up there at the top of the post. When he sleeps with me, I am happy. When he purrs near me, I am happy. When he brings in a dead creature...less so, but I am happy for him because he is so happy.

And isn't it strange that we invite furry creatures to live in our homes with us?

Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu*

An important concept in our country is Ubuntu - the essence of being human. Ubuntu speaks particularly about the fact that you can't exist as a human being in isolation. It speaks about our interconnectedness. You can't be human all by yourself. And when you have this quality - Ubuntu - you are known for your generosity.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu

I watched In My Country this evening. Juliet Binoche and Samuel L. Jackson play reporters who are attending the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Hearings. A very powerful movie.

We need more Ubuntu. Worldwide.

*A person is a person because of other people. (African Proverb)

are we having fun yet?

Faith is permitting ourselves to be seized by the things we do not see.

Martin Luther

Some days are better than others. I admit it. I worry...about the health of people I love...about my own condition in the material world. I anticipate losses and I worry.

Most of these things I can do nothing about--or better said, I am doing what I can to help.

And you know...some days it just isn't fun at all.

The dragonfly is good medicine. Perhaps, an indication of things not seen. I'll take it.

cold frames

These are for our winter garden. At the moment, the one in the middle has the zucchini under it. The one in the foreground currently has vermicompost enriched soil and is ready to be planted--probably with carrots and beets...or maybe lettuce.

The one in the far back is not yet in place. Taller than the others, we plan to grow potatoes under that one.



I made all of these from reclaimed / recycled wood. I used up all those stray pieces we have been saving for years and now I am down to a few odds and ends remaining. Not even enough to build another box. I did have to buy the hardware, however.

TA DA! Another weekend project complete.

What did you do?