Sweet Sixteen... Or 61 In Dog Years

Way-back machine:  My "singing telegram" days

Yesterday was my birthday. 61 years of living a relatively uneventful life (and I mean that in a good way... and also, I suppose, in a wistful way). Some missed opportunities, to be sure, but also interesting experiences, supportive family and friends, and so many beautiful things to be grateful for... like our wonderful planet.

Snowdrops growing in the gravel

Loving nature as I do, I try to photograph it whenever I can. When spring finally arrived here in New England, all the trees and shrubs exploded with flowers and then leaves, like this one: 

Pink dogwood in a parking lot against a blue, perfect sky

Yesterday, there was a "virtual party" on Facebook, with 50 or 60 people leaving messages and comments that sweetened an already perfect day, as well as dozens of fun photos as we all reminisced about old times. Lots of laughs and a few happy tears. I got a lovely little box of goodies from my mom and brother, a few thoughtful gifts and cards from my husband and friends. One long-time friend sent me a pad of pastel-colored parchment paper; someone else gave me a deck of angel oracle cards; and another person gave me a plant stake that glows at night. Then: A surprise package from someone I've never met (I only know her as a "friend of a friend"). "I asked the sea to wash up a collection for you and this is what I gathered," she wrote. A simple, thoughtful gesture.

Beautiful driftwood, feathers, beach glass and stones from Washington State's coastline

Remember my old car (see previous post) ? Sold it: It's gone. And my messy upstairs art room? I took a car-load of clothes and other things to Goodwill, and there's more bags and boxes in the car... both have given me more space to play with. Now, as I prepare to go back to my summer job, I should have some spare time and room to write, sew, craft, and otherwise rejuvenate my sputtering creative output. That, you see, will be my birthday gift to myself.

A single poppy towers over my dainty foot

So: Happy Birthday To Me... it looks like this could be a wonderful and busy year!

If I Could Change One Thing...

Midsummer's Night Eve - Edward Hughes - 1908

We all have our faults, our flaws, our failures... tempered with our successes, our triumphs, our victories. Our two sides are inexorably intertwined, forever balanced, like bitter and sweet, happy and sad, or high and low. 

Being born under the sign of Gemini, I truly feel these two sides more keenly than some do and so, as I trudge towards my 61st birthday, there needs to be a reckoning, a solution for this sloppy balancing act I call My Life. If I could change one thing about myself, a thing that would make My Life better, what would it be?

PROCRASTINATE: to put off doing (something) until later; delay

I am a highly skilled Procrastinator. I have spent years honing my talent for never getting around to doing the little things that would improve my otherwise mundane existence. Of course, I put off the more distasteful chores, like mopping floors or dusting shelves (who doesn't?), but there are many other things I could be doing to enhance my productivity or improve my living conditions... like having an organized art space or a lovely garden or a less-cluttered house. Jewelry needs repairing, plants need re-potting, boxes and drawers and plastic totes need emptying, and My Life needs a long-overdue overhaul. But I just end up doing other things (washing dishes, vacuuming the rugs) to make up for not doing what needs to be done, what I've put off for days, weeks, months... and yes, even years.

Old Faithful, back in 2010 when it still ran and we were inseparable

For example, my old car has been sitting in the driveway for more than two years. It doesn't run, it just sits there looking more and more like a hunk of junk. I keep meaning to do something about it, but I never get around to it. My poor husband has been gently asking me when I'm going to do something about this eyesore, but I think he's finally decided enough is enough... and he's absolutely right.

Will I actually do something today? This week? This month? Yes, it's time... Let's see if I've got what it takes to do what must be done.

May The Force Be With You... Today (May the Fourth)

Star Wars poster art

I'm a huge Star Wars fan (hey, I love Star Trek, too - and I don't feel like a traitor to either cause) and I've seen the films more times than I care to admit. But a silly thing happened the other day...

Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) & Han Solo (Harrison Ford)

I've been sick for the past week with a cold (or flu, take your pick) and haven't been too active due to a low-grade fever (about 99 degrees - not bad, but my normal temperature is usually around 98.4), just enough to make me feel under the weather. When I told my husband Greg this, he made light of it, implying that I really wasn't all that sick. Well, when you're sick, you're sick and, while I wasn't lying around moaning I wasn't turning cartwheels, either! 

The ill-fated Christmas Special (wish I'd seen it, tho I've heard it was just awful)

Apparently he felt a bit guilty about being so cavalier about how I felt and sent me an e-card featuring Chewbacca saying "I love you" in Wookie-speak. At the end, the card says, "May the 4th be with you" but he had absolutely no idea that Star Wars Day (yeah, it's today) even existed (I'm sure he's not alone - I knew about it because I had looked up "unusual holidays" on the Internet a few months ago). Anyway, the card was funny, I laughed and, so, mission accomplished, dear husband. I'm still sick, but getting better.

C3PO, Obi-wan Kenobi (the brilliant Alec Guiness) and Luke (Mark Hamill)

I flipped through all the cable channels today to see if Star Wars was showing but no luck... So that's why I'm watching the first Star Wars trilogy this weekend (my DVD box set, so no commercials) just to show my love, Wookie-style.

Happy Star Wars Day... from my galaxy to yours.

March and April: A Blur (But Here Comes May!)

Dover clip art (unattributed)

Time passes... things happen... and it's now the end of April! Easter has come and gone, and May is just around the corner with so much promise: warmer weather, potential projects, exemplary events. 

Having had time to reflect upon 1) the death of a friend, 2) a trip back to the South to celebrate my mother's 93rd birthday, and 3) returning home where I'm still surrounded by too much "stuff" and have no regular income yet, I feel like I am emerging from a long hibernation and need to undergo some sort of "ritual of renewal" and pledge of intention in order to hold onto any shred of integrity and self-confidence as I take a long-overdue personal inventory. 

A good time for this would be the upcoming cross-quarter day on May 1, also called Beltane (midway between the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice). With its connection to the Seven Sisters (Pleiades) star cluster, this is an auspicious time for me to reinvent myself and make some serious plans.

At Beltane the Pleiades star cluster rises just before sunrise on the morning horizon, whereas winter (Samhain) begins when the Pleiades rises at sunset. The Pleiades is a cluster of seven closely placed stars, the Seven Sisters, in the constellation of Taurus, near his shoulder. When looking for the Pleiades with the naked eye, remember it looks like a tiny dipper-shaped pattern of six moderately bright stars (the seventh can be seen on very dark nights). It stands very low in the east-northeast sky for just a few minutes before sunrise. Beltane marks the passage into the growing season, the immediate rousing of the earth from her gently awakening slumber, a time when the pleasures of the earth and self are fully awakened. It signals a time when the bounty of the earth will once again be had. May is a time when flowers bloom, trees are green and life has again returned from the barren landscape of winter, to the hope of bountiful harvests, not too far away, and the lighthearted bliss that only summer can bring.

(source: www.witchvox.com)

Full moon behind cloud bands - April 14, 2014 (photo by tjbg)

The moon is already waxing (good for planting crops and making decisions) and today's solar eclipse (visible in Australia) sure seems like another good push in the right direction... If you get to see part of the sun (or moon) disappear and reappear, it suggests that renewal of the self is not only possible but highly recommended!

Image by Jay Pasachoff (source: www.space.com)

Tuesday's eclipse of the sun was the first of two solar eclipses in 2014, with the second event occurring on Oct. 23. That October event will be visible primarily from Canada and the United States. Tuesday's event also came on the heels of a total lunar eclipse on April 15. The next moon eclipse will be a total lunar eclipse on Oct. 8. (www.space.com)

And so it is with natural phenomena: In April, a lunar eclipse is soon followed by a solar eclipse, and this pattern repeats itself a few months from now, in October... Wild!

And... simply amazing... and inspiring.

This Thursday, have a Happy May Day... and remember: Change is good!

Unforgettable Maddie

Yesterday my friend, Maddie, shed her mortal coil and took off on a new adventure. She was ready for the journey, and had been for some time - it took the rest of us a little longer to catch up to her - but we supported her decision and helped her prepare for her trip as best we could. We all took turns visiting, sharing laughter and tears, learning new lessons and teaching each other how to live... and how to die... well.

She was like an older sister to me (I never had a sister, so I had to choose mine from among my best friends) and, like siblings, we didn't always see eye to eye; but, like siblings, we always managed to get back on track and our friendship became stronger and more flexible during the ten years we knew each other. Maddie could be funny or feisty, demanding or forgiving, but she was never mean-spirited. She always wanted to share her knowledge and ideas with anyone who was willing to take time and listen.

Maddie was a Pisces - these earrings make me think of her

And, over the years, I did learn a lot from her - about jewelry-making, about different stones and crystals, about herbs and organic food and shamanism - but (mostly) I learned some profound lessons about life... and (eventually) death. There weren't too many topics she couldn't converse about, and she shared experiences that not many of us could lay claim to. Maddie was a shrewd and savvy businesswoman - a little old-school, to be sure, but always willing to learn new tricks - and she never hesitated to give her advice to the downhearted and the downtrodden souls who wandered into her store.

Maddie always kept her bird feeders full

She loved to cook and garden, and nothing gave her more pleasure than sitting outside, soaking up the sun's rays, inviting a dragonfly to sit on her shoulder or listening to birdsong. She would spend hours pruning the bushes in her yard with a small pair of pruning scissors - her mother's, I believe - and adored all animals, especially cats, birds and horses. Although Maddie had no companion in her later years, she was a hopeless romantic at heart. After a couple of failed marriages and no children, her friends became her family.

When the warm air starts to rise, ride the breeze on butterflies

And now her vibrant energy has ventured out into the Universe, a journey she was actually looking forward to. I can't quite believe she's gone, but I know I will never forget her. Go on, then, Maddie... I predict you will transmute into a clever, feisty dragonfly and will find many a friendly shoulder to rest your beautiful wings upon.

"Time is for dragonflies and angels. The former live too little and the latter live too long."

— James Thurber

Look Out - My Favorite App Is Back

Back when my husband and I got our first iPhones, I discovered a camera app called Hipstamatic, which I loved. A lot. But as my 3G iPhone aged, the app stopped working (I never got around to upgrading my phone) and I was actually quite sad about losing the various "film" "lens" and "flash" effects. 

Recently, my husband got a cool, brand new 5S and I inherited his year-old 4S iPhone, so I immediately uploaded Hipstamatic and started taking "fun" photos again (this time, armed with a flash - which I hardly ever use - and the "selfie" option, which the 3G didn't have, but since I'm not as photogenic as I used to be, I hardly use this function, either).

Copper likes to look over my shoulder 

It's been so cold and cloudy lately, I haven't had a chance to use it outside much, but that hasn't stopped me from snapping shots of the cats or various other items around the house. 

Lights glow like fireflies upstairs in the "studio" loft

There are so many beautiful things in the world, it's seems like a shame not to take photos whenever the opportunity presents itself...

Here's a double-exposure of the same area:

The same lights superimposed over a wall that's lower down

And, of course, more cat photos!

Copper's on the upper left, Silver's relaxing lower right

Ahhh, life is good - just ask these two!

Hello 2014, And Welcome

 I wanted to find some inspirational words to mark the beginning of another new year... and I thought this one was worth sharing.

May light always surround you; hope kindle and rebound you.
May your hurts turn to healing; your heart embrace feeling.
May wounds become wisdom; every kindness a prism.
May laughter infect you; your passion resurrect you.
May goodness inspire your deepest desires.
Through all that you reach for, may your arms never tire.

D. Simone

 ... sure, it's a lovely quote, but I was not able to find out who "D. Simone" is (thanks a lot, GoodReads), so I had to go looking for another one... and here it is.



Another fresh new year is here . . .
Another year to live!
To banish worry, doubt, and fear,
To love and laugh and give!

This bright new year is given me
To live each day with zest . . .
To daily grow and try to be
My highest and my best!

I have the opportunity
Once more to right some wrongs;
To pray for peace, to plant a tree,
And sing more joyful songs!

William Arthur Ward 

William Arthur Ward (1921 - 1994) wrote several books, including Fountains of Faith and Thoughts of A Christian Optimist

Wishing everyone a joyful and creative new year!