Sunday, May 30, 2010

Remiss

I have been remiss in sharing my early morning rock messages lately. This morning Riley and I took a rock from our separate stashes and then only showed them to each other before we put them down. It amazes me how well they went together:

And today I just had to look and see if this one had been found:

It had, and we had a good laugh thinking of the person who might of found it.

This was one of Riley's favorite rocks, funny how he doesn't hesitate to leave the things he likes behind:


That same day I left this one on another large rock that had a lovely pattern:

But this shot really blew me away, I only noticed it when I uploaded it to the computer:

The reflected red was from Riley's fleece jacket and it was in all the shots.

And I hope who ever found this one saw the irony:

Cleaning Out

Last week my friend Sally and I challenged each other to The Big Clean Out. We were tossing back the iced coffee, talking about this and that when we came upon the subject of clothes. One thing we apparently have in common is a wardrobe full of clothes we don't wear for various and assorted reasons. We have a handful of things we wear, get washed and still somehow get buried and crinkled under the piles of things we are hanging on to that no longer fit or have lost their shape. We are hanging on for sentimental reasons, for frugal reasons or for unknown reasons, but hanging on we are. So we dared each other to get rid of about half of our cupboards and drawers. These last few days it's been lurking in the back of my mind, I've been mentally sorting what to toss and what to keep. I don't know if that exercise made it easier today when I actually hit the cupboard but I knew when I went in I would be ruthless. When the dust settled I had a double pile on the bed that kept falling over:

There are my feet for perspective on how high the piles were. I filled an orange garden trash bag and immediately threw it in the car and hauled it off to Renaissance, the clothes recycler. And now my half empty shelves:

Those feet keep wanting exposure, it must be the spicy red polish they got while trying to put off the sorting.

Metaphorically, this clean out was necessary for me to make space for what I am inviting into my life. All the dreams and hopes and excitement I started the year off with seem to have been put on hold. I just can't seem to get lift-off with any of it. Today I consciously made some room in my life for change and I'm crossing my fingers that what does blow in on the wind to fill those corners will bring me some long awaited joy.

Friday, May 28, 2010

Friday Haiku

This Friday haiku
is brought to you by feelings
of overwhelment.

Before you say it,
I know that's not a real word
(thank you, Spell-checker).

Sad, Dazed and Confused
is where I spent this last week,
geographically

they aren't real places.
It's becoming a habit
to allow myself

these indulgences.
But I think it's time to kick
some butt - namely, mine;

to start taking care
of what is in front of me
and to do it well.

Because even I
am tiring of hearing
the sad song I sing.



Friday, May 21, 2010

Friday Haiku, Take 2

What price vanity?
Slathered on my self-tanner
holding some high hopes.

Looked at the bottle,
discovered it expired
in 2003.

Now my feet appear
to have smoked a pack a day
for the last ten years.

Friday Haiku

I'm weeding like mad
but they grow back faster than
I can pull them all.

That crazy vine thing
chokes out my creeping charlie
which is a blessing.

Friday, May 14, 2010

My Morning Walk, in Photos






And a Friday Haiku which is correct or not, depending on how many syllables you usually accord to the word "aren't".

There aren't any words
To describe the smell of green
After a warm rain

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Hand Wash Cold


What can I say about, "Hand Wash Cold"? The worst thing I can say about Karen Maezen Miller's follow up to "Momma Zen" is that it's not long enough. It's the kind of book you want to go on and on. I read little bits at a time, hoping it would last but ultimately I came to the end. I felt as if the author had taken my hand and walked me through the garden of life, explaining the pitfalls, the realities, the foibles and the fumbles. Her stories made me say silently, "Oh I did that. I did that too," and "It's alright. There is hope for me."

Metaphorically she likens how we care for things in our life with how we do our laundry (amongst other things). What was blatantly obvious to me was that although I'll read the directions that may say, "hand wash cold" or "lay flat to dry, do not wring out," I will think that doesn't apply to me because a) I do not have the time for such tedious procedures and/or b) I know better than the manufacturer. Which, in itself, can be a metaphorical read on how I've lived my life.

I didn't waste my time flagging pages that particularly spoke to me because every page, every paragraph rang true. But I think the most memorable line was, "The life we are most devoted to is the life we don't have". Guilty of that. Although less so, much less so than when I was younger. And, "The search for greater meaning robs our life of meaning". But I won't stop there, how about this one, "Having the good life can be so simple when you savor the one you have". As she wrote in her first book, it all comes down to doing what is in front of you. Simple, easy, right? Maybe not but worth the effort because the times when I don't, when I'm running after something that isn't right here in front of me or in my heart, I feel fragmented, I don't see the apple blossoms or the lilacs that just came into bloom. I miss out on the warmth of the sun or how good clean sheets feel.

So, Karen - when is the next one coming out?

And Now, a Word From Our Sponsors

Zongos of the World, Unite!

Here I am, obsessing about spam again. *sigh* You would think I have nothing better to do. I get a lot of spam from hoards of people named Zongo. First and/or last names, depending on the day, the week. Perhaps in some cultures it is a common name, like our Johns or Smiths. Here, where I live, it is anything but common, except in my spam box. Yesterday I must have deleted at least five from different Zongos. And they all wanted something from me. The messages are usually urgent or desperate or both and they almost always flatter me by calling me "Dearest". One day I may even respond to one of them, so curious am I about that wonderful sounding name in my mouth. Zongo makes me think of the Muppet Gonzo who, according to Wikipedia, is "a character who performs terrible acts but considers them artistic", which may be why I feel a certain connection to Zongo/Gonzo.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

The Doldrums

I think that word best describes me today. I've been down in the doldrums, for no particular reason. The rock I pulled to leave on my morning walk was

But it was anything but because inspiration eluded me today. I tried to fake it for a while in the studio, hoping the fact of having a stretch of alone time would stir the juices but it didn't and it showed. So I got busy.

Loads of laundry on the line.

A whole bin of pulled dandelions. For the life of me, I'm not sure why I bothered since this vine is taking over and choking out everything in my garden, including the dandelions.

I didn't have the heart to pull this one, since it had found the wherewith all to come to full bloom in a block of cement.

Then because I still had a little time before the school bus rounded the corner, I finished off this jigsaw puzzle with a compulsiveness that kind of scared me.

While waiting for the school bus I found this little beauty.

I would love to know what kind of bird it birthed, if anyone (Snap?) recognizes the shell.

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Optical Illusion

This is not an optical illusion. I have this one mutant white tulip in my garden. Just one.

The hand is there for scale, it really is that big. It's really quite lovely but it scares the heck out of me every year. You should see it blow in the wind, it looks like an alien antennae picking up remote signals. Nature really does astound me.

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Graffiti

Yesterday we made a quick trip to Ottawa for a brief family visit and, of course, a trip to Michael's. It's only a two hour drive but I had to stop and empty my tank about half way there. Oddly enough, I found this bit of graffiti in the bathroom stall, right beside the other usual smutty messages. They say a good photographer takes her camera EVERYWHERE, but I draw the line at the bathroom door. Good thing I had my cell phone.


Which got me thinking, as these messages from on high will do, that with mother's day coming up, this is probably the thing most mothers would wish for if a genie flew out of a bottle. And since there are usually three wishes granted, my other two would be a little quiet alone time and finishing one task from start to finish without any interruption. What would you wish for?

Friday, May 7, 2010

Friday Haiku

Challenged by Ginger
I've been, to Friday Haiku
So, Ginger - where's yours?

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Magnificence

Isn't this just the picture of magnificence?

It makes me feel like I'm living in the south when the magnolias are in bloom. Mind you, most of them have reached their peak and instead have created these carpets of petals.

That is not my magnolia but I enjoy it just the same. Here's mine which is, in it's own right magnificent:

A couple of winters ago it was almost destroyed by an unexpected and heavy accumulation of snow that fell early, before I could get its protective bonnet on. It's an inspiration to me that after being submerged, weighted down by unearthly circumstances, struggling through an entire year to push and survive and bloom a few meager blossoms, then sleeping once again through a Canadian winter, it has emerged with a renewed sense of spirit, showing its colors and resilience.

To get to that stage where I, too, can show my colors and resilience despite the winters of my recent moods, my message to myself today:


Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Is It Just Me?


Am I the only one who finds this math problem that was a part of Riley's homework tonight a wee bit, oh shall we say - morbid for grade one?

Translation: There were 7 fish in the bowl. 6 of them died. How many were left?

And don't get me started on the book these little wankers have to read, "Mon Chien Balou". A cheery little story about a boy's dog who gets hit by a car and dies.

I swear I don't have to make this stuff up.

P.S. I think there is also a grammatical error in the math question.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Spreading the Love


Some days it's hard to believe that someone as like minded as me is up and spreading the love in my neighborhood, but here's the evidence - a not-so-little magic tulip petal heart we found down by the water this morning.

I wonder if other people who are finding our rocks are also wondering about us.

I don't know about you, but I really needed to see this this morning.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Smiles

Here are a couple of things that made me smile today. Riley's rock we left on our morning walk and his own gesture while leaving it behind:

and a real giggle and chuckle here at the end of the day.

No, not because the glass is now half empty (it's going to take the whole glass, maybe the whole bottle for that) but because of the cork, silly.

Saturday Silly (tribute to Carla Sonheim)

Egads! And gosh darn!
Forgot my Friday haiku
What will happen next?