Carmel

Carmel-by-the-Sea......ahhhh.........just the name sounds relaxing huh?  I am in Carmel with some good friends for a few days and trying to breath deep to relax...............Om.................and paint.....and shop...and play.....and....dine....and visit with dear friends........and................oh heck, I guess I will just have to be very busy-relaxing!


I hope you have a great weekend and I will see you on Monday!

 "Om is not a word but rather an intonation, which, like music, transcends the barriers of age, race, culture and even species. It is made up of three Sanskrit letters, aa, au and ma which, when combined together, make the sound Aum or Om. It is believed to be the basic sound of the world and to contain all other sounds. It is a mantra or prayer in itself. If repeated with the correct intonation, it can resonate throughout the body so that the sound penetrates to the centre of one's being, the atman or soul. There is harmony, peace and bliss in this simple but deeply philosophical sound."

The Tortoise

That would be me...the tortoise.....very slow.  It took me 10 years to decide about how we would best remodel our house.  I clipped photos from magazines (thousands of magazines) and read book after book.  I checked the internet for updates on what appliances, windows, contractors, paint colors, flooring, cabinetry, design, to see what felt was right.  I checked to see if we were within our budget while still obtaining quality materials.    Maybe it's my metabolism but I feel like I have always been this way,  checking things out thoroughly before I put my toe in the water.        S....L....O....W..... (right mom?)

Tim & Jeanette at Tahoe cabin

My two brothers would try to get me to ski down "gun barrel" in our teens, at Heavenly Valley but NO, I was quite content to go down the bunny slopes and work on my turns.....for years!!!

I wasn't like that when I met Mr. B......I knew he was the one.  My friend invited me to a local baseball game....he was the catcher on an adult softball league.  Instantly I knew he was kind, had a good heart, was very interesting, sweet, handsome, funny, loving, and deep.  

I wasn't like that when I was ready for children....I think I knew that decision from the age of 4......but it kind of amazes me that I can feel in my soul that these huge decisions are right but I can take forever picking out the right vet for our dogs, or deciding on what plants need to go where in the garden, or what color to paint the kitchen.  

20+ warm yellow kitchen colors (there were 3 other walls with similar swatches!) - our patient contractor.......

Maybe some things are written in your DNA ...or in your soul.  Kind of like a bird knows when to make a nest, then sit on it and then (like our backyard Canadian Goose nest) she knows when to leave it because the eggs are not ever going to hatch. 

A Robin's nest

I hope all three boys grow up to be just like their dad! (Well maybe without the BIG glasses!)

 

Jon & Jim

 

TJ & Jon

Jim & Tyler

Tyler & Lily

Andy & Jim

Kayli & Andy

“Nature is slow, but sure; she works no
faster than need be; she is the tortoise that wins the
race by her perseverance.” -Henry David Thoreau,
naturalist and author (1817-1862)    

Tweeting and Greek Mythology

While in Paris, I was trying to get a photo of these cute "blueish" pigeons (tweet) getting a drink of water and I discovered a lovely little statue behind them. 

The statue is ""Polyphemus Surprising Acis and Galatea", by sculptor Auguste Ottin, and was added to the fountain in 1866.  This is Acis, a shepard from Sicily, with Galatea, a sea nymph.

As you look up you see the Cyclops Polyphemus jealous with rage (he has a crush on Galatea, the sea-nymph) and he has discovered her with Acis. Polyphemus kills Acis with a large bolder. Meanwhile my little birds have decided to "get out of dodge"!  Can't blame them....

This is the Medici fountain in Luxembourg Park built by Marie de Medici in 1630.

Now I don't know about you but I have always wanted a Cyclops statue in my garden!


And I'll bet you were trying to figure out how I was going to connect "tweeting" and Greek Mythology.......huh?

OK, enough history lesson for today.  Enjoy your Thursday!

"Myth is an attempt to narrate a whole human experience, of which the purpose is too deep, going too deep in the blood and soul, for mental explanation or description."

- D. H. Lawrence

Gratitude

 Morning journaling....

a catch-all journal of sorts

notes to self,

calendar,

to do list, 

random thoughts

(both important and not so.....)

A visual journal.

magazine pictures

and words,

important words.

                           heartfelt words.

And "doodles"

ahhh...

love to doodle!

But most important

a Gratitude Journal.

gratitude for both the simple and complex.....

birdsong

a good read

sunshine

art

water

Mr. B snoring next to me!.

my health

our boys

a home

a happy doggie on my lap

dinner with friends

parents who still love to garden.....

Abundance in my life

in so many ways!

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.  It turns what we have into enough, and more.  It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow". ~Melody Beattie

Walking in Circles

My painting of Mama & baby

I've been walking in circles lately because I just can't seem to begin a new painting. I thought my creative juices had dried up, I'm a creative failure, I'll never paint again but that wasn't it at all. Today it suddenly dawned on me why.   



1. Every room in our house is in transition (I'm just saying that instead of a mess) because I got this huge urge to Spring clean about 2 weeks ago and instead of completing one room at a time, I took on the entire house.  Now everything is out of place and nothing has really been cleaned! I am usually OK if I have one or two rooms where I can retreat to when the other rooms are going through their "transition" but not so right now.  Jeez....what was I thinking?  

2. I am trying to paint a cow right now that I am sizing for a small frame that I already purchased.  Not a good idea.  I want to paint him BIG! A big guy with BIG attitude just should not be painted small. Makes perfect sense to me now!

The BIG boy - see what I mean?

the Lavender is coming along nicely too!

So....with my "intention" (OLW) happening this morning, I came up with a plan. I set up a schedule to get the house back in order (phew!) and I will just buy a bigger frame so I can paint my big cow any size I want!

Sounds so easy now but believe me I have been walking in circles! 


              Time to go wrestle a cow!



"Don't wait for inspiration—pursue it." 

― Dan Zadra

Varied Life Mysteries

There are lot's of mysteries in this world of ours. Picture Inspiration is a class I am taking through Big Picture and this weeks assignment was discovering some of the mysteries in nature and photographing them.  Most people put sweet photo's of baby birds, flowers, butterflies and newborn babies.  I on the other hand just went to the Giant's game on Sunday for Mother's Day.  I am amazed at what torture (Giant pun intended) athlete's put their bodies through.  And one closing pitcher is a real mystery to me!

Brian Wilson

Of course I had to submit a "pretty" picture too......

Do you know what it is?




(Hint - both photo's have beards)
Enjoy your week! 

       " Instructions for living a life. Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it." ~ Mary Oliver

Health & Spirituality

Recently a friend and I discussed the change a person goes through during an "emergency".  I had always believed that an emergency occurs and you deal with it as best as you can under the circumstances.  Then as your consciousness changes due to this crisis, your spirituality also shifts.  My friend believes that the "emergency" happens due to an already shifting spiritual awakening. Maybe because energy is going to your spiritual awakening, therefore your body weakens?  Either way, you "emerge" differently......

Kuan Yin - Goddess of Compassion & Mercy

"Your beliefs become your thoughts,
Your thoughts become your words,
Your words become your actions,
Your actions become your habits,
Your habits become your values,
Your values become your destiny." 

--Mahatma Gandhi

 

Working the Soil

I have always planted a vegetable garden.  In my teenage California "hippy" days, I would put on my overalls and work a plot of land in my parents backyard.  I made manure tea to fertilize my garden and I put out tins of beer to attract the snails.  I read my grandmothers book on Victory Gardening. I grew enormous sunflowers to attract the birds and lovingly tended my little patch of earth. 

I think this connection to the earth was somehow passed down to me through my parents who in their 80's, still love to garden.  My grandfather also loved to garden and he grew onions and lettuce beneath his rose bushes.  From him I learned how to propagate new roses and how to intertwine veggies and flowers. 




Whenever I am struggling with big life issues, my first instinct is to put on my gardening gloves and work in the warm soil.  There is something that renews my spirit in seeing plants grow. It also gives me some quite time to "chew" on these problems and to settle them within my body.

 

Today I started my 2011 veggie garden with tomatoes, zucchini, beans, herbs, sunflowers and zinnias. The veggies are going in a little late due to my recent travels and some cold weather.  But last weekend Mr. B. tilled the soil and added some compost to wake it up a little!  Tomorrow I will have to add a little fence around the plot as my two doggies have decided they love my carrots, beans, tomatoes and especially the strawberries! 


All photos are from last years crop!  Mmmm.....



 

"When the deepest part of you becomes engaged in what you are doing, when your activities and actions become gratifying and purposeful, when what you do serves both yourself and others, when you do not tire within but seek the sweet satisfaction of your life and your work, you are doing what you were meant to be doing." — Gary Zukav

Natures Comfort

Every morning I wake to birdsong, although lately there has been a little lamb bleating from somewhere across the creek, along with a very young rooster who starts to crow at 2:30am....yipes!

Year round we have a flock of Canadian Geese overhead or down the creek and an occasional turkey or more often a night time skunk. Last night we heard two Coyote's for the first time in awhile.  There are a lot of squirrels and deer that like to nibble my rose buds.

We don't live in the country but in a semi-rural suburban neighborhood. I like these sounds as it feels comforting to live with nature. As I get older, I find I have trouble killing a spider or an ant. Even snails that destroy my garden give me pause as I just fling them away from my garden instead of mushing them like I used to. Is this because I am older and have more respect for life?

This morning I found myself cheering for a bee that came through our bedroom screen door....while my husband was trying to find the electric bug-zapper, I was cheering for the bee to escape before he came back...................the bee escaped! .......yes....!  Although, I'm still not sure how I feel about living with a mosquito all night long.....itch, itch....! I grew up in this neighborhood that we still live in and when I was small, there where so many toads every summer that you could not walk across our lawn in the evening with out stepping on one...where did they all go?   I know some of them went down the back of my blouse to be squished by my two brothers who .....were boys....and my loving brothers....who liked to torture me!  But there used to be thousand's of these toads and tadpoles....also, there used to be Walnut tree's in Walnut Creek as well as Oak trees in Oakland.  Mr. b always says, "Places are named for things that they destroy"....like Walnut Creek and Oakland. 

“Birdsong brings relief

to my longing

I’m just as ecstatic

as they are,

but with nothing to say!

Please universal soul,

practice some song or

something through me!”

--Rumi

Happy Mothers Day

"A Mother holds her children's hands for a while...their hearts forever"

Pause

My friends and family are going through a lot right now. Life is precious and sometimes I am reminded of that when there is a little bump in my daily routine, like when one of my boys gets the flu or the dog gets an ear infection that won't go away.
But lately there have been big life changing events for loved ones. At times it's frightening but when I pause and re-center myself, I am reminded that the universe has bigger plans.

Even a tiny insect causes me to pause now and wonder as to it's purpose in this world.  Everything works together in tiny microsystems and at times I forget how important these beings are. Right now I am pumping Morphine into my friend while she sleeps. She just had emergency surgery last night but she will be fine. This I feel deep in my soul. My cousin however had to make a heart retching decision yesterday that I just don't know how or where to hold. She had to make the decision to take her husband off of life support system after only 48 hours of finding out he was sick.  No time to deal.... or talk..... or dream..... or think before you lose your life's best friend.  I'm am so sad for her incredible loss. 

"Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude."-Denis Waitley

Family Ties

Great Grandma Mary, all twelve cousins and Grandma Sophie at Lake Tahoe

There is

nothing

like

a big

Italian Family!

We celebrate together

and

share difficult times

together.

We vacationed together

at Lake Tahoe

and

sat in our parent's backyards

together.

Laughing, crying,

talking, sharing,

and sometimes

getting into trouble

together.

Twelve cousins,

from four

sisters.

Three each.

Our Grandpa Arturo

was the

head of this big family

but it was

Grandma Sophie

who brought us all 

together

through her

cooking, (always cooking!)

stories, smiles, hugs

and

love.....

Times were tough

and

money was tight

but boy did we

enjoy the

simple

pleasures

in life

TOGETHER !

The art of being happy lies in the power of extracting happiness from common things.

~ Henry Ward Beecher







Landing on my Heart.....

Our Son 

And he truly is a gift...

My son, Tyler is 21 today.  I remember the day he was born.  His two brothers were sent off to his Aunt & Uncle's home for the night.   He was born in the early hours of the morning and I could not wait to announce his arrival. You have a sweet new brother, son, grandson, nephew, ...I remember the nurse weighing him and measuring him, then giving me the tape measure with his length noted on it. Today we have a mark in his bedroom closet that announced his desire to be 6'2 and a baseball fireball.  He achieved that!  The doctor that delivered him was not my regular ob-gyn, but a young new doctor that looked like he just parked his surfboard outside and had come in to deliver a baby or two.  I had had a brain aneurysm four years previous to Tyler's birth so I was a little anxious about the strain. But he was perfect ..... and beautiful...  
Tyler was the easiest going of the three.  I guess he had to be since his two older brother's schedules dictated what Tyler and I wanted to do...but we went to baseball, soccer, field trips and such while Tyler slept and he was happy to just be with his brothers....

Always a smile on Tyler's face and always a "will you marry me mom" along with a bouquet of flowers that he had picked from bus stop in grade school down the lane.  

Tyler - I am so proud of you and I love you ....always.... happy birthday....mom...

  from  Beth at "be yourself....everyone else is taken"
http://www.moredoors.blogspot.com/

....and

 he is

truly a gift.

but don't get me wrong. he has not been an easy child to raise these past few years.

 not even close......

when our son was little

 he was very agreeable to our way of parenting and his love for life taught us how to live.

but

by the time he reached high school.  well honestly there were days i wanted to lock him out of the house and wish him luck.

four years

of broken hearts. tears. frustration. yelling. silence. head shaking. door slamming. grounding.

finger pointing. sleepless nights. blurry mornings.

and

now we are here

with a son who is finally on a new path.  finding his way. making us laugh again. talking for hours with us. working full time. winning back the love of a sister who didn't like him for a long time.

and

oh was he ever sick this weekend

when your nineteen year old son needs you to be with him in urgent care

two days in a row

you know he really doesn't feel good.

and

as i sat waiting with him.  taking this photo on my phone that he didn't see.

in my mind

he was 3 years old again suffering from another asthma attack.

he was 5 having an allergic reaction to peanuts.

he was 8 and having his head stitched up after cracking it open on the side of the pool.

he was 12having his finger tips

super glued back together after a firework exploded in his hand.

after a multitude of tests. we  still don't know what is wrong.

and

 today he's better.

he's actually better in so many ways.

and

his love for life

which he never lost.

even when life was ugly

is still tangible

i can't tell you how nice it is to have  our son back again.

My Boys

A friend recently sent me some old photos from our family vacations. I came across this one of me and my middle son, Jon. He was the kind of kid that should of been in the movies or at least commercials. Cute as a button, if I do say so myself! He had a "big" personality and thought outside the box. He was always thinking deep thoughts like "Exactly when did that cow lick me?" and after a few minutes of scratching my head, he explained that the girl who had just given him a haircut told him that he had a cowlick. He was about four at the time.
On another occasion when he was deep in thought, he asked "Just when did the world turn into color?" Mmmm....where did that one come from? When I asked him what he was talking about, he responded with "You know how it used to be black & white and now the world is full of color!". After discussing this with his father, Mr. B, we realized that he had seen old photo's and old TV shows (like I Love Lucy) which were in black & white. Makes perfect sense to me now that a smarty pants kid like this would think that the whole world was void of color and suddenly one day turned into full spectrum color just like in "The Wizard of Oz"!

Love you Jon-e-b......hope you're enjoying the challenges of college!