Loved this Year of Learning

This was the daily post from the Dalai Lama facebook page. How fitting.
"Compassion creates a positive, friendly atmosphere. With such an attitude, you can create the possibility of receiving affection or a positive response from someone else. If the other person doesn't respond to you in a positive way, your own feeling of openness gives you the flexibility and freedom to change your approach as needed and still allows for the possibility of having a meaningful conversation with them."

I Need a Minute Here

Life is so full of ups and downs and twists and turns. I have felt many subtle shifts today. The enjoyment of my morning tea with peace and quiet, having a delicious lunch with an ocean view with a friend, hanging out with the kids, and now quiet again while the boys are on the beach for a jog.
We got a new neighbor next door in the house that has been quiet and vacant for many months. My natural inclination is to live NOT too near people, but have lots of room and privacy. So, I am not so glad to have people there altho it was inevitable; that is just the truth of how I feel, no apologies. I have been sending good vibes to hope that quiet folks rent that house. Life is too short to have loud neighbors... I feel like such a grump sometimes but hey. I am doing subtle and constant attitude adjusting thru the day to keep myself positive. People do have an impact on the next person.
  Don't fence me in -
  Absence makes the heart grow fonder -
  Give me a home where the buffalo roam - 
What is really bad is I went to a local shopping center today and it was extra crazy jam packed with people and cars and I was like, hey I'm outta here! I made like a baby and headed out of that place. It was a bit of a zombies at the mall vibe. Errrghhh
Sometimes I am hyper-sensitive but I usually deal with it very well. Ha, and I live in a fairly small coastal town. I have been to many large world cities, but it is different in my day to day life where I prefer to have little encroachment in my "personal space" else I get a bit ferocious, alas. (I don't like it when people crowd me in the checkout line either). Maybe I need to chill out and go walk on the beach..
So anyway this is my turn to feel hemmed in and push back at the world that seems to have scooted a little too close today. Pardon my elbows.

(But I do truly believe the new neighbors will be just fine. And certainly very nice! Love thy neighbor...)

Peace on Earth

Merry Christmas To All !

Just Horsing Around

byebyebyebye don't you cry when I say goodbye

 In 2010. I forsook coffee for tea. I forsook non-responsive people. I forsook any lack of confidence lingering around the edges of the past. I forsook following the rules of language and will now bend them at will. I forsook holding back tears. I forsook trying to please most people. I forsook the fear of embracing my shadow as teacher and friend. I forsook turning down the music's volume. I forsook feeling forsaken by love. It's been a darn good year.

Call of the Wild

TRUST
Trust that there is a tiger, muscular
Tasmanian, and sly, which has never been
seen and never will be seen by any human
eye. Trust that thirty thousand sword-
fish will never near a ship, that far
from cameras or cars elephant herds live
long elephant lives. Believe that bees
by the billlions find unidentified flowers
on unmapped marshes and mountains. Safe
in caves of contentment, bears sleep.
Through vast canyons, horses run while slowly
snakes stretch beyond their skins in the sun.
I must trust all this to be true, though
the few birds at my feeder watch the window
with small flutters of of fear, so like my own.
Susan Kingsolving
Sometimes it does seem so. Developers are pushing into every corner, every fold and crevice. City council meetings I watch on the television are "let us cut, scrape, pound, dig, burn. We will make money. We want to expand into the boundaries, push buildings into the recovering forest. Into the marsh lands. Into the scared quiet. The refuge." There are many empty buildings in our town already. The deep stream gorges I thought would never be built in have been breached. The ocean views have been blocked by massive condo/hotels. People who once enjoyed the sunset now have the shadows of these goliaths blocking the warmth.
I will come down off my soap box now. Oh but sometimes I can barely take it anymore.

Losing Lennon

I was in Wonder Oregon that day. Still brings a tear. Aloha dear John, we love you forever.

French Riviera

We were on vacation from our home in Fountainebleau. We drove all the way to Monaco, Nice and Marseille, going over the mountains and thru towns along the coastline. We crossed over into Italy for some shopping.
My sister and I loved the beach like it was our natural element. My bathing suit had orange polka dots on white and dark bottoms, I don't remember if that was black or brown. I do remember that I loved it! I always had love afffairs with my swimsuits when I was little, never wanting to take them off. My Mom took us out into the deeper water to rinse off the sand and saltiness from the sea that had collected in our suits and was starting to rub our tender skin.
Our beloved French babysitter Odette came along with us. She was about 16 and I think every square inch of her tiny bedroom was covered with posters of film stars. She got so very sunburned laying on the sunny beach! My Mom poured canned condensed milk over her sunburn to take the heat out she said. My Mom still swears by this remedy!

Boil in Sweet Milk

"If a cracked dish is boiled for 45 minutes in sweet milk, the crack will be so welded together that it will hardly be visible, and will be so strong it will stand the same usage as before."
I love making my list for Thanksgiving shopping. Checking off each item as I wield my shopping cart through the crowded isles. It really is a warrior's meal with the great effort involved. Women (and men) train for years to be successful Thanksgiving cooks. Housecleaning is big too because to make room for all your guests requires much moving arounds of things. I think I may like that part least. Usually things get put in weird places and are difficult to find again. Especially the things on my dining table which has many functions (it is the biggest flat surface available after all!).
May we all have confidence and joy as we prepare the feast and give our thanks for all our blessings. And mark another notch on our accomplishment belts.

Centaur Wind

Lovely my lovely time of year. Sagittarius blew into town last night like a wild gypsy lover. Fresh feral air like spring in reverse ~ tasting of winter and laughing . Nippy and dangerous.

o wild nights of metallic bite and running to nowhere like there is no tomorrow.. 

picture of Tony Ward

I love how the word nowhere has the word NOW in it. Ultimate of "Be Here Now".

Death of the Self

Like discarded pages                        

from the book

of autumn, the leaves

come tumbling down

in red and umber,

each a poem

or story

an unread letter.

Think of the fires

in ancient Alexandria,

the voluminous smoke

of parchment burning.

Open your arms

to the dying colors,

to the fragile
beauties

of November.

Deep in the heart
of buried acorns,

nothing is lost.

by Linda Pastan

  Well, it has been a week. Someone has dissed me out of nowhere and it hurts. Twice. I say I won't let it bother me but it does and creeps up into my thoughts. I much prefer people to be upfront and talk about things. At this point I don't know what is the problem. I now want to withdraw or rant, yet I know there is no answer to be found in that path. The person is someone who I cannot afford to have issues with since we work together. I will wait awhile and see what happens.

  This is the second time this year that this has happened. The first was a dear friend ( a friendshipI always thought was unshakable ) who just took a turn in the other direction. I know I will not please everyone but have had a crush to my ego/tender heart. Just when I thought all was well! I hope to learn from this because if not the pain is not worth anything.
UPDATE; I bucked up and just called the person involved They said they had planned on contacting me to apologize for their behavior. Also that they should of called me 1st, but were glad that I had reached out to try to set things straight. Evidently they were 'having a bad day'. Don't take it out on me next time please! Apology accepted but now I fear I may be a bit wary with them in the future as this was not the 1st time this has happened. I will be force feeding them chocolate next time I told them. Really. Mischief managed.

Of Remembering

Is it a new country

In another world of reality

Than Day's?

Or did I live there

Before Day was?

I awoke

To an ordinary morning with gray light
Reflected from the street,
But still remembered
The dark-blue night
Above the tree line,
The open moor in the moonlight,
The crest in the shadow.
Remembered other dreams

Of the same mountain country:     

Twice I stood on its summits,
I stayed by its remotest lake,
And followed the river

Towards its source.

The seasons have changed
And the light
And the weather
And the hour.
But it is the same land.
And I begin to know the map
And to get my bearings.    
by Dag Hammarskjold

 

Sunday Tube

"We Carry White Mice" from Snowbird in the UK


Yeah, I love green with pink.
I love doze-y lyrical music.
I love floaty dresses.

Now to rouse you back up abit - The Go! Team also from the UK and "Doing It Right". Love the cat suit. This video reminds me of high school in the 70's. High School Musical circa 1974. Woohoo!

Belated Blogaversary

I just realized I just had my 1st blogaversary on October 3rd! Altho I don't post real often, I love love it. Even tho I haven't had any comments or such, it still is satisfying. So...hurrah!

Taking Just Another High Chance or Just High Taking Another Chance

So struck by these songs. Bryan Ferry is too cool. Really love him so much. Debonair in any era. And the high I mention in my title is not, of course, the drug induced kind, but more of a swoon. Or when you get a rush from taking a chance, you know what I mean. A swooning rush, I like to be in one! Especially the heart fluttering kind...

Sea-Fever

SEA-FEVER

I must down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,

And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,

And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking.
And a gray mist on the sea's face, and a gray dawn breaking.

I must down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that cannot be denied;

And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,

And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must down to the sea again to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,

And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long tricks over.

by John Masefield (1913)

Shortest. Summer. Ever.

Wow, it is windy and rainy already. Just like the winter but not so cold. I have lots to do before this weather happens and hope I get a chance if it clears up soon. We have an outdoor wedding to attend on Saturday; any outdoor wedding on the Oregon Coast is incredibly iffy any time of year at best. I really hope they have a plan B!

Love You Jeremy Wade

wow on so many levels ...

You Know it's True

We are fierce and wild by nature.
Movement between one life situation and another is essential.
Movement or action is the key that unlocks the door to understanding.
Remember that action is not a reaction. It has a lodge of its own.
Twin Dreamers - Lynn Andrews

A Blackberry Mug and Rose-Hip Soup

Today I went to a Arts and Crafts Fair that had vendors from around Oregon, etc. Fabulous and so much fun. Decided it was a perfect place to shop for my Mom's birthday coming right up and found her some neat things. My favorite is this blackberry mug from Hilda Kidd-Wiesenmeyer of Fishbowl Pottery. A beautiful hedgerow-style mug this is, all ready to drink tea or sangria punch out of. I loved all her items, especially the lamps. Lovely for the nature inspired decorator.
Blackberries are so happening in our summer here on the coast. The berries will be ready in August. They make some fine hedgerow plants if you don't mind the thorns. You can let them grow at will in a back area of your land, but watch them and keep them trimmed up or uh-oh, take over time. If you let them grow too much you need to borrow a goat or three to chew them up, ha!
A friend of mine made some wild rose-hip soup with wild ginger, wild onions and rosehips that was soooooo incredibly good. It was clear, brothy and beautiful, almost pinkish and tasted like a food that soaks right in to the core of the body to nourish. He is a local chef known as the Wild Gourmet and had a booth at the fair today with lovely sea vegetables, wild pickings, mushrooms and the ingredients for the soup for sale.

I'm All Ears...

The wise woman within us remembers our goodness. She speaks to us in our dreams, thru the rustling of leaves, the singing of a stream, the aroma of herbs and the call of the whipporwill. She encourages us to heal our wounds. She asks us to remember our connection to all that is beautiful and sacred. She asks us to remember that we are a part of all beauty.                         Deb Soule, Avena Botanicals  

Castaneda Canto

The backbone of a warrior is humbleness and efficiency, acting without expecting, withstanding anything that lies ahead of him (her). Don Juan

Hail to the Queen of the Turning Earth

Vegetation
 O never harm the dreaming world,
 the world of green, the world of leaves,
 but let its million palms unfold
 the adoration of the trees.
 It is a love in darkness wrought
 obedient to the unseen sun,
 longer than memory, a thought
 deeper than the graves of time.
 The turning spindles of the cells
 weave a slow forest over space,
 the dance of love, creation,
 out of time moves not a leaf,
 and out of summer, not a shade.

by Kathleen Raine

A happiest summer wish to all. The sun has not been strong this spring on the Oregon coast. But today it may gather strength and bestow us with much needed golden rays. The loving lingering rains have greened everything beyond even the normal brilliance. Now we need the contrast of drier and dappled shadows filtering thru and dancing. Hail to Summer, the golden Queen of the turning Earth, dispelling darkness and doubt, rising heated blood and warm memories. Hail to the Queen of flowers enveloped in bee buzz and drifting clouds of tiny flying buglets. May your golden eyes light up the waves dashing the shore in translucent glows of blue and green and cream. So glad to see your bold and beautiful form after damp and misty corners dreary. I smile in welcome !

Species of Intoxication

You are The Wheel of Fortune

Good fortune and happiness but sometimes a species of intoxication with success.
The Wheel of Fortune is all about big things, luck, change, fortune. Almost always good fortune. You are lucky in all things that you do and happy with the things that come to you. Be careful that success does not go to your head however. Sometimes luck can change.
Take the Test

I'm not sure what a species of intoxication is, but sounds quite interesting and maybe not what it's seems. I found this little tarot card test while googling Odin. And it reminded me of this song:

The wheel is turning and you can't slow down,
You can't let go and you can't hold on,

You can't go back and you can't stand still,

If the thunder don't get you then the lightning will.

"The Wheel" by The Grateful Dead

http://studies.lekevicius.com/p1_1/gods-odin.html

Mesmerized by Blue Sky

Shazam to the Awesome Meter

My blood is coursing steady and strong thru my veins now as I grab my dancing minstral shoes and hop out the window. That's just alittle of what this song does to me. Kinda like when I read Tolkien, except then I grab my elven cloak...

Driving Rain

Evidently filmed driving along the coast of Croatia. This song always blasts right into my heart. It seems actually that Van Morrison can envoke a huge emotional/physical response from me in general. Sometimes if I hear his music I pretend to ignore it (out of self-preservation), and other times I surrender completly.

Mola-Makers

Off the coast of Panama in the San Blas Islands the women make the most creative and beautiful cloth art called molas. Layers of different colored cloth are stitched, slashed to reveal colors and stitched some more in the most intricate patterns.
"Cuna women pursue simple and productive lives governed by tradition and enriched by ritual. Their art is strictly a woman's art which is intertwined with the total fabric of their being. They work compulsively with one or more unfinished designs always at hand, their sea island environment being conducive to an idyllic life-style which leaves plenty of time for creative stitchery. Their complicated appliqué technique is not practised by neighboring Indian tribes or any other culture on earth."
from MOLAS FOLK ART OF THE CUNA NDIANS by Ann Parker and Avon Neal 1977

Rockin in the Free World

It has been some of the best ever agate hunting lately on the beach by my house. I thought this season was going to be a wash until these past 2 weeks. Storms, tides and waves uncovered huge beds of agates on a rock shelf I haven't seen for years. So awesome ! I was sore from leaning over picking up agates. My teenage boys and I spent some quality time in the sun by the sea gleaning these beauties. Plenty of sea glass and jasper too.

 

An Auld Aquaintance Not Forgotten

Terry, we miss you much. R.I.P.

Home, Peter !

A most uneventful Easter at my house this year. I dearly love the Easter Bunny but he barely poked his head in the door. I hope he stops by longer next year... He and his helpers should all be home home and cozied up to the fire by now - it must be exhausting hiding all of
those lovely eggs.

White April

The orchard is a pool, wherein I drown;

It is a very pool of loveliness.
I clutch the edge of a white world and press
To the bottomless white billows down and down:
I clutch, I gasp, and all at once each spring
That I have known comes sharply to my mind,
Passes before me, and each one I find,
Stirs in me a packed, swift remembering.
Oh, pear-trees, ancient by an ancient lane,
A hundred at the delicate white start,
Tall waves that roll and break upon a shore!
I struggle up, I am myself again:
Dripping with April, April to the heart,
I run back to the house, and bolt the door!

WHITE APRIL by Lizette Woodworth Reese circa 1930

Just Thinking ...

"Make yourselves nests of pleasant thoughts. None of us yet know what fairy palaces we may build of beautiful thought - proof against all adversity. Bright fancies, satisfied memories, noble histories, faithful sayings, treasure houses of precious and restful thoughts, which care cannot disturb, nor pain make gloomy, nor poverty take away from us - houses built without hands, for our souls to live in."          John Ruskin

Starlight

Here is a small collage my granddaughter made today. She was sent home from school because she had a slight fever and stomach ache. I had just the cure - Art ! 
She has made quite a few wonderful little masterpieces in her 7 years. We have so much fun and she is a huge fountain of inspiration for me.  We are playful art partners.
"Starlight"
 by Dejah

Song of Uvavnak

by Uvavnak, Eskimo Shaman woman
  The great sea
  has sent me adrift.
  It moves me
  as a weed in the great river.
  Earth and the great weather
  move me.
  They have carried me away
  and move my inward parts with joy.

I have been so very inspired lately... I adore being inspired and court that state of being with devotion. Have been working on small collages. I like doing artful things that bring a thought or emotion with them, or at least some reaction, preferably positive. I love it when people "get" it. But I am perfectly happy pleasing only myself and my inner muse ...

Filling My Vision

"Each time your soul beholds the sun, the clouds, the wind in the trees, a rose, a perfect leaf, a pebble or a wave, then tucks the design in the folds of memory, it is adding to your treasure of those perfected ideas which are the building blocks of your reality."

                                                               Mark & Elizabeth Prophet

I hope we all have the chance and inclination to fill our collective folds of memory with beauty. Have a care...

Coasting @ the Beach

 Locals here always say "the coast" as our locale and we go walk on the beach. I've noticed visitors say "we are at the beach" meaning the locale. You can overhear their cell phone conversations in the stores...

•~~♥~~• 

Such a wet-dove colored early February day here on the Oregon coast. Tender warm riffs with little sniffs of spring are sprinkled thru the ocean breeze. It is so temperate here and always ever-green, but the fresher green of newest growth makes my eyes happy.

It is not uncommon for roses to bud and bloom by or even before Mother's Day if the rose is in a protected nook. My last house had such a rose and I never saw such early blooms. Massive fragrant deep red blooms that purpled when fading. I still had blosoms in October. Now I live less than half a block close to the actual beach and it is more exposed. There is a small rose bush on the south side of the house and it certainly has gotten very strong storm winds these past 2 months.
I've been looking at the bare-root roses in front of the store and thinking I should plant at least one. I have to still observe the layout more to decide. But (!) I have already decided that I will plant at least one rosebush wherever I live from now on. I have left sooo many plants and landscaping behind over the years ... Now I am basically down to some larger older houseplants and a bunch of starts rooting in jars.
UPDATE: I can't find the rose bush I thought I saw in December anywhere ! I must of imagined it. All the more reason to plant a new one.