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?

spotlight

I always wondered why somebody didn’t do something about that then I realized I was somebody.

Lily Tomlin

Doing something about it doesn't always mean taking the spotlight. Sometimes it is about being in the right place at the right time. Suit up. Show up. Shoot or pass.

If somebody needs to do something about that--well...maybe it's me. I am, after all, somebody.

be kind

Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's wet and round and crowded. At the outside, babies, you've got about a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies - you've got to be kind.

Kurt Vonnegut

Is there ever really a good reason to be other than kind?

Not so much.

tagged

(mijo)

The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you; Don’t go back to sleep. You must ask for what you really want; Don’t go back to sleep. People are going back and forth across the door sill where the two worlds touch. The door is round and open. Don’t go back to sleep.

Rumi

Kario did it. She put me on her list. So now you get to hear seven things about me that you probably don't want to know, followed by seven blogger links that I read regularly. (Since Kario and I read some of the same bloggers, I will list different ones than she did--so check out her list, too.)

1. I drive around topless year around. The only thing that stops me is rain. Snow? Not really an issue--in fact, it's kind of fun!
2. I have an uncanny knack for finding products that I really like--usually after a long search--and the next time I go to buy them, I can't find them. When I ask, I learn that the product has been discontinued. WTF?
   
3. One of my majors in college was theatre (that's how theatre majors spell it). I loved acting (still do--do you have a part for me?). However, I also did a lot of the technical work--like lighting and set building. Now I apply those skills in other areas. This summer I built a worm composting bin and a shoe cubby for the closet. Next: cold frames for the winter garden.
4. I'm not good at garage sales. Neither attending nor hosting. I always think my stuff is worth more than people want to spend. I would rather give it away or donate it than sell it to someone who wants it for nothing. And I am not very good at bargaining when I am the buyer.
5. I don't watch the news. Can't stand it. I read the New York Times headlines now and then, and a few news blog headlines. Maybe I choose an article a day to read--usually human interest.
6. I watched Across the Universe three times in a row the other day when I was lying around not feeling well. Now I have the soundtrack stuck in my head and I don't even mind.
7. Apple fritters. Need I say more?

And now...

Check out these awesome bloggers:

Kathryn @ Building Ordinary

Kamana @ Journalling Through Photos

Se'lah @ Necessary Room

Vickie @ Operation You

Margie & Kath @ Soeurs du Jour

Muse of South Prairie

Neal @ Spruce Eagle Poet

love thursday 10.14.10 ~ beauty of different

The Irish poet, Galway Kinnell, describes Francis as “re-teaching things their loveliness.” In his poem “St. Francis and the Sow,” Francis tells a big female pig, through words and touch and blessing, that she is indeed beautiful—she just can’t see it—and most of us cannot see it.

We all have to be mirrors like this, not just for nature, but for one another—and especially for those who cannot see the bud of possibility within them, those who hate themselves, those who’ve been abused, those who’ve been imprisoned, those who think they are no good, those who’ve been discriminated against.

Those are the ones that we have to mirror like Francis mirrored the sow. We, also, must reteach all things their loveliness.

Richard Rohr

My blogger friend, Karen Walrond over at Chookooloonks has a new book coming out--The Beauty of Different: Observations of a Confident Misfit.

You can go to Amazon.com now and get yourself a copy.

I think HoneyBoy already knows that he is beautiful...and different...and lovely.

Have a lovely Love Thursday.

hot box

(misi in the hot box)

Mama exhorted her children at every opportunity to "jump at the Sun." We might not land on the sun, but at least we would get off the ground.

Zora Neale Hurston

(1903-1960)
American Writer

And everyone would be warmer for trying.

Misi likes this box in my room. It is a banker's box with a kitty heating pad in it and a fancy kitty bed cover on the top. The heating pad gets warmer when she lies on it. Just warm enough to keep her old bones nice and limber.

Soon the frost will be on the punkins and her visits to the hot box will be longer. I don't know if she will have to vie with the boys for that space but probably not. HoneyBoy seems happy on the hearth. Mijo has taken over the king sized bed during the days.

According to the Old Farmer's Almanac, we won't be getting frost for a few more weeks. That should give me enough time to build the cold frames for our winter garden. Stay tuned. That is this coming weekend project.

no steam or starch, please

what i was doing...

(french toast)

...at 10:10:10 a.m. on 10/10/10.

And at 10:10:10 p.m. on 10/10/10, I was watching The Heart of the Game.

'tis the season

If you desire peace, cultivate justice, but at the same time cultivate the field to produce more bread; otherwise there will be no peace.

Norman Borlaug

from his Nobel Lecture

No frost. Just pumpkins. Oranger and oranger all the time. Will cultivating pumpkins bring peace?

safe at home

Your daily life is your temple and your religion. When you enter into it take with you your all.

Kahlil Gibran

Once HoneyBoy got home from walkabout, everyone felt better. Mijo was a bit sad while he was gone and not lying around on his back like he usually does. By bed time last night, everyone was much more relaxed.

Ahh....

All shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.

things that have been on my mind lately

What does it mean when a dragonfly poops on your hand? No, really...what does it mean? Because this one did--on my hand.


Sitting in the endodontist's chair today, I suddenly wondered: When a ventriloquist goes to the dentist, can she carry on a conversation with him while he works?


I had a conversation with my sister about the medical delivery system--including doctors, insurance companies, and drug companies. Somehow that conversation brought to mind the world's oldest profession. Do you know what happens when three prostitutes get in bed together?

No?

Neither do I, but someone's going to get screwed and it's going to be expensive.


HoneyBoy has been on walkabout since yesterday afternoon. He didn't come home at all last night. I have been out calling him and also calling him with mental pictures. One of our neighbors just brought him home. No one knows where he has been. He ate and ate and ate, then drank and drank and drank. He is fine.


I am really looking forward to a good cup of coffee tomorrow morning. I have been away from home at coffee time for a couple days and tomorrow I get to have coffee here at home. It will be ever so much more tasty now that I have a white faced orange Manx kitty boy to keep me company while I drink it.

love thursday 10.07.10 ~ my little mijo

(mijo on the charging station)

Do you think that this is why he is so big now? Perhaps he is supercharged.

fun update

(orchids)

Make each day your masterpiece.

John Wooden

A few days ago I mentioned that I am focusing on fun...as in, "Isn't this fun?"

I gotta tell you--it's making a difference. Am I having more fun? Not really. However, my attitude gets shifted on a regular basis.

When I am in a situation that tends toward stressing me out and I remember my new focus, I'll stop and say, "Isn't this fun?" with a smile on my face and everything. (Because how can you not smile when saying that?)

It doesn't really change a crappy situation, but it can--and usually does--change my crappy attitude. Am I really able to find a fun aspect in those situations? Not always. And that's okay. My insides are happier and that counts.

laugh and cry

(banana had a visitor)

I weep a lot. I thank God I laugh a lot, too. The main thing in one's own private world is to try to laugh as much as you cry.

Maya Angelou

I thank God that I have been laughing more than crying lately. Certainly, there have been times when the scale tipped the other direction.

The best of times are those when I laugh so hard I cry. Oh, yes. The very best.

You?

how deep are your heavens?

The heavens are as deep as our aspirations are high.

Henry David Thoreau

october sabbath

(not my picture. don't know whose it is. credit given to the creator.)

We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature — trees, flowers, grass grows, in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence . . . We need silence to be able to touch souls.

Mother Teresa

We are sabbathing today. Hope you have a good day of rest, too.

isn't this fun?

Michael Jordan tells a story about the final seconds of what would become the legendary game of the Carolina Tarheels and the Georgetown Hoyas in the 1982 NCAA Championships.

With seconds remaining, the Tarheels were down by one. The stadium was going nuts. Dean Smith called a time-out and sat with his team mapping out the next play. Apparently, in the middle of it all, Dean Smith stopped. He looked up at his team, and said:

“Isn’t this fun?”

from Christine Kane's blog

I really like this story. When we love our work--or whatever we are doing in the moment, everything is so much better. And it is a cryin' shame that more of us don't love what we are doing more of the time. Know what I mean?

I have decided that I am going to start looking for the fun.

Won't that be...fun?

he put himself to bed

My mom is here visiting for a few days. I made the bed in the study where I sleep when she comes to visit.

HoneyBoy likes to crawl in on the bed and get covered up as I put the sheet and blankets on a newly made bed. When I left the room, he was a bump under the covers, completely hidden. When I returned to the room to go to bed, this is what I saw: