Hello old friend

Observe (sorry it's kind of dark, I know): a few weeks into nearly daily Qigong practice and non-militant vegan eating, I am wearing jeans I haven't worn in a long time.  It's good timing because my other pair of beloved jeans now have a hole in them.

Day with my girl

Really enjoyed my girly day. 

V and I had brunch with the downstairs neighbors, R and her 15 year old daughter, O.  We talked and talked over yummy food.  It was sweet to get to spend time with them, particularly O who I don't often talk to.

Then it was onto the mall.

It was fun walking around and going into stores and watching a 14 year old shop.  I have a gift card to Anne Taylor Loft so I tried something on there, but it was a no go for me today.

H&M had the best music playing hands down.  I heard this song (for the first time) and loved it.

Hot N Cold - Katy Perry

Coming awake

We made sushi last night.  It was so yummy.  The warm seasoned rice (rice vinegar, sugar, salt) wrapped in fragrant nori alone is so nourishing to the soul and delightful to the palate.

 

This morning the bread is baking, I am considering the Neti pot, and later V and I will head out for brunch with my downstairs neighbor and her teenaged daughter.

After that?  Girly shopping.  It's been ages for me.  I'm looking forward to it :-)

Tonight, a new recipe.  Mjeddrah.  Thanks to K and I'll let you know how it comes out!

Be still my heart

V loves grilled cheese.  As much as Sag.  The two of them have been eating a grilled cheese sandwich every morning for breakfast.  (Muenster cheese on GF bread spread with Earth Balance.)

The tiny breathy moan of pleasure as the sandwich is held, the eyes are locked and the anticipation hits its brief peak?  My heart goes pitter pat.

Wise words

"The first factor in the revolution of consciousness is the mystic death of the ego - the death of negative thinking, negative personalities. We must purify the soul of the inner enemies. Every time a defect manifests - envy, gluttony, anger, lust, whatever - that impulse to the heart. Ask, `Do I really need to invoke this?' And then honor the heart."

--Willaru Huayta, QUECHAU NATION, PERU

I've been digging this guy's words lately.  (Really ties into the words I received from you last night, B.)

And watching this flower.

 

 

 

What have you been Hearing and Seeing lately?

Present

 

I have been present.  For many moments one after another after another.  I am grateful.

Like the moment on top.  Gem at the playground this afternoon having whipped off his jacket and hat.  He was running and playing hard and was hot...though the temperature was hovering at 40º if that.

And the moment above.  Sag and I stayed home from common meal last night because he was run down and popped a bit of a fever.  He wanted to play Sorry and Rivers, Roads and Rails.

A moment for which there is no photo.  Giving V a hug in the kitchen (she is so affectionate) and she says, " I (will) miss you very much."  Appropos of nothing except how she felt right then and there.  Which is, of course, everything. 

Being present in each moment as it comes.

Wake Up Everybody

Wordless Wednesday

Our day so far...

Quiet and focused working morning.  (I caught up on my money work...reducing by 16% is hard, yo!)

 

Right after lunch the kids (all three of them) began improvising with Ugly Dolls to make a movie.  Shortly thereafter we rushed off to art class.

 

Gem's mandala from art class.

 

Sag's mandala from art class.

 

My cozy alpaca scarf, a gift from V and her family.  I love it...the colors are so me.  I've worn it every day since Saturday :-)

 

We gave Gem the book The 39 Clues from the birthday bird on Sag's birthday.  He picked it up recently and liked it a lot.  Sag is reading the first volume now.  This afternoon we found the second volume at MBC and paid for it with store credit.  Sweet.

 

V found out yesterday that she passed an important test!  We celebrated this afternoon and hit the chocolate shop after the bookstore.  Here is the bar V chose.

 

Slowing it down with some Gala apples and the Wii.  This mom is now off to make meatballs and corn bread.

Evening light

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Old friends, new times

 The wonder of holding something for the very first time.  (M)

 

The energy and life that comes with being 2.  (J)

Our friends S and E "zipped" over from the city with their two boys J and M.  (Do you know about Zipcars?)  The kids enjoyed Legos and light sabers and we lunched on veggie soup, onigiri, hotdogs and raw veggies.

There's an inevitable just-scratching-the-surface quality to getting together with friends with kids, especially young kids.  But, there's value to it nonetheless.  Connections are made, threads of conversation and play are woven and wound, and forward momentum is experienced together.

We look forward with renewed joy, to next time.

Sacred singing

V and I went to my friend E's house for Sacred Singing this morning.  It was wonderful.  We sang a lot of songs, chanted some chants...broke delicious bread together.

It was nice to hear/sing some old and familiar songs like Dona Nobis Pacem.  A new song for me was How Great Thou Art, which I really loved.  This video clip provides the melody, which is the element of the song that moved me most.

Tonight's table

I don't set a table as often as I would like to...but, hmmm...maybe that's what makes it so special.  I just love the quiet anticipation.  The patient beauty of it.

I baked a GFCF carrot cake tonight.  To celebrate V's arrival and to celebrate Cap's birthday (carrot cake is his favorite).  The raspberries were spotted by V in the supermarket this afternoon.  Gem, a fellow lover of raspberries, was thrilled.

A moment of stillness

V has arrived safe and sound.  Things went very smoothly in the air and at the airport.  We went to our local zoo for a couple of hours (where the peacocks roam about freely) and then stopped into Whole Paycheck for lunch and groceries for tonight's dinner.

Cap will take the kids to the Y in a bit and I will try my hand at celebratory carrot cake.

Images

What the kids gave Cap for his birthday.  They remembered that he'd mentioned this game on more than one occasion.

My gift to Cap...hope it arrives soon.  I would love for this book (it looks promising) to inspire our imaginations...and for ensuing dreams to propel us towards a family trip to Finland in five to ten years.

 

This week, Cap related to me his desire to provide the children with formal handwriting instruction.  For reasons of time and practicality, we decided that I will take this on.

For reasons of time and practicality, I decided to order these books from Amazon.  I learned about D'Nealian handwriting when I was working just outside Boston.  It is a style of manuscript (printing) that is very conducive to flow into the formation of cursive letters, when the time for cursive comes.

Why reinvent the wheel when the wheel has proven quite functional and meaningful?

Healing

In the sweater pics I look worn out.  I decided to post them anyway because the post was about the lovely sweater, and, well, it's real life.

The reason I look so tired and pale in those shots is that at the basketball game the other night, a guy fell on me.  Literally.  He was walking in the row behind us and decided step onto and walk on the backs of the kids' seats.  He lost his balance and landed on me, his legs straddling my neck.

Ugh.

And grrr.

I thought it would be interesting to take a shot of my face after seeing Dr. V. today.  And here it is.  He helped loosen and stretch my neck, shoulders and upper back.  I am feeling much relief and happiness.  Don't I look so much better?

P.S.  I am marveling at how much stronger/more flexible my body and health are now compared to even a year ago.  I think I would have been much more injured if this had happened to me then.

My new sweater

I have a new sweater.  My friend, B, gave it to me.  The angora drove her crazy with itchiness.  The really lovely thing about this is that we haven't been friends for long.  But, we connect and somehow, she thought I might like this sweater.

And I do.  I love it.  I love the colors, I love the fair isle, I love the pattern.  I also favor sweaters that are warm and light in weight, which this one is.

I wasn't sure how it was going to look on me, though.  As much as I like pink, it can be a tricky color to wear.  Even more so, florals.

Well, I love it on, too.  And am so grateful.  I don't own many sweaters and so I tend to wear them hard and into the ground in a couple of years.  This sweater has come at the perfect time...during a sweater dry spell (hadn't quite reached famine proportions).

Cozy.

Dreamy.

Happy.

Thank you, B.

Cap turns 45

I met him when he was 19.  He emanated Spirit.  We talked about Sam Shepard.  I thought he was cute. 

Later I learned he was funny.  And smart.  And loved his family.  And followed his passions.  Someone I could imagine spending some time with.

His essence is unchanged though his day-to-day is unrecognizable.  This morning I woke thinking I wanted to take his picture today.  In black and white.  A birthday portrait. 

I like this one.  A rare glimpse that goes under the surface.  He stopped and breathed into the moment, interrupting his dash to read one last thing and gulp down his breakfast before leaving for a day of meetings.

He is a doer.  Often on the move, in body and mind.  Making things happen.  Often for others. 

When it comes to Cap, this portrait of his hand may have more resonance than the more traditional ones above.

Happy Birthday.