Wild Geese

Wild Geese by Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

Diamonds on the Soles of My Shoes

Guess who was in town last night?

And guess who got great tickets?

But just try and guess who got to go back stage after the concert?

And what would you babble about if Paul Simon looked you directly in your star struck eyes and asked you what you thought about the concert?  Mmmm...






Well, several months ago, I asked Mr. B if he was interested in going to a Paul Simon concert at the Greek Theater in Berkeley. He replied that he had already seen him several times and wasn't too interested. So I just dropped the subject. But you know how the old saying goes - when God closes a door, he opens a window?  Well my "window" is a great friend who, well...let's just say her son has "connections"!

My friend (KB) called several days ago and asked if I would be interested in going to see Paul Simon with her.

Of course I would!

Are you kidding?

So we decided to take BART in early so we could have dinner at Oliveto's, then take a taxi to the Greek. It was a beautiful starry evening and her son perked us with some great seats.  The concert was incredible with Paul doing a mix of old reworked songs along with some of his new music. He and his band came out for about three standing ovations and we danced and sang along with our favorites.

Once the concert was over KB's son asked if we would like to go backstage to use the restroom.

Well why not since the line was a mile long outside?

We were like fish swimming upstream. While everyone else was trying to get out of the concert & head home, we were trying to get to the stage & thru security.

But once we passed thru those magical doors, we were in another land.

Beautiful lighting was strung across the outdoor veranda with purple & orange Italian piazza lights. There were hundreds of Chinese paper & silk lanterns that were hung high overhead. There was a bar and a fabulous spread of food (but who could eat at a time like this?).  There were about 18 couches arranged into a multitude of small intimate areas and large torches all around. It felt a little like being in the Arabian Nights, if I had ever been there...I'm just sayin'.

I'm not even half way through my glass of wine when I see KB's eyes get as big as saucers.

Paul Simon is behind me talking to a group of people. KB decides that this is the moment to thank Paul for ...something.....anything......my mind goes blank.  I'm going to be right behind her and I can't think of a thing to say. He looks friendly enough and happy to meet each person that comes up to him.

Alright......I can do this....(gulp).....I should think of what to say....I'm next and my mind is blank and before I can blink, he is shaking my hand and looking into my eyes. I fumble but recover with a quick "nice concert".....no I said "beautiful concert", I think.  Maybe I said "How's your mother?" I don't really know because now the moment has passed and it's the next persons turn.  His hand was very soft and warm. I do remember that. And he wore a Pork Pie hat. He is short but has a presence about him.

My moment is gone and I did not even say anything profound to the man who's music I grew up with and adored.  On the ride home all I could think about was what I could of, should of said. Oh and his soft, warm hands.  And his beautiful eyes. And how special it is to bring such a creative gift to the world.

Thank you Mr. Paul Simon for your music and for making me feel like I had diamonds on the soles of my shoes for one special evening.

"Listen to the sound of silence." - Paul Simon

Playing in Yosemite

“Live with intention.

Walk to the edge.

Listen hard.

Practice wellness.

Play with abandon.

Laugh.

Choose with no regret.

Appreciate your friends.

Continue to learn.

Do what you love.

Live as if this is all there is.”

--Mary Anne Radmacher

Put Another Candle on that Cake!

It was my dear friend, Jill's birthday this week and we set today aside to have lunch and celebrate. 

First I gave her three choices of where she would like to spend the day.....the city (SF - Air Show), the country (Napa modern art gallery & lunch in Sonoma) or on the coast (Nick's cove right on the water).



She chose The City.  So we drove to San Francisco then discussed the crowds at the Embarcadero and decided to cross the Golden Gate Bridge and head to Murray Circle restaurant at Cavallo Point.  It's an old military base that has been turned into a wonderful Spa/Lodge/Restaurant.

We sat out on the front porch and watched the show while dining on some very yummy food & wine.

See how low they are?  Some even went under the Bay Bridge!!

Later we walked out to Horseshoe Bay Pier and watched the rest of the show from right under the bridge

It had been raining (at times pouring) in the Bay Area for the last few days.  Today was beautiful as you can see!  I ordered it all for my bud Jill!

"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count.  It's the life in your years" 

---  Abraham Lincoln

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Subtleties

1. The quality or state of being subtle.
2. A subtle distinction, feature, or argument.

Today in my "Picture Fall" class with Tracey Clark our assignment was "subtleties" (capturing an image in one color or value).  I had to dig into my digital photo albums to pull up a recent one as it was raining today and I had painting class this morning and critique this afternoon and besides, the dog ate my homework!

PS - Every once in a while I have to do this, pull something from my stash, as I just can't capture an appropriate image (for 4 classes) everyday!!! But being the "good girl" that I am, I feel very, very guilty about it.....OK?

So the photo I pulled up was one from last month when my son Jon and his wonderful girlfriend, Megan, went horseback riding at a little stable near our cabin in Lake Tahoe. 

It was early morning but the horses had already been out for their first ride.  I was attracted to the beauty in the knot that the horse was tied up to the rail.  It had many subtle colors as well as the horse's legs in the background was ready to go on the next trail ride.

"I wonder if anyone else has an ear so tuned and sharpened as I have, to detect the music, not of the spheres, but of earth, subtleties of major and minor chord that the wind strikes upon the tree branches. Have you ever heard the earth breathe? "  -- Kate Chopin

Serenity of the Soul

I just began reading "Bird by Bird" by Anne Lamott.  The title is from her father who was also a writer.  Anne's brother had put off a large school report about birds for months and on the night before it was due, he was trying to start it but was feeling overwhelmed.

(I don't know about you but I never delay in any of my tasks!)

Sitting at the kitchen table amongst piles of bird books, her father gently rubbed his son's shoulders and told him to take it "bird by bird".


And that my friends is life......

I have been feeling so overwhelmed with life lately that I didn't feel balanced.








Therefore my body gently reminded me with 3 weeks of vertigo to come into balance both mentally and physically.



Why is simple so difficult?  Just take it bird by bird.....

“I'm all over the place, up and down, scattered, withdrawing, trying to find some elusive sense of serenity."
The world can't give that serenity. The world can't give us peace. We can only find it in our hearts."
I hate that."
I know. But the good news is that by the same token, the world can't take it away.”
― Anne Lamott

Falling Leaves

falling leaves
hide the path
so quietly

~John Bailey

Autumn

I have always loved Autumn.  The days are still warm but the nights cool down.  It is a time for new school supplies, sharp pencils and a fresh sheet of paper.  A time for baking and coming within for comfort, reading a book or beginning a needlework project.  It's a time to reorganize and try to get in the last few al fresco dinners with friends and family.  The garden is not as demanding and the birds come back to my feeders.

"Delicious autumn! 

My very soul is wedded to it, 

and if I were a bird 

I would fly about the earth 

seeking 

the successive autumns." 

-- George Eliot

Hold the Bus

The Doobie Brothers

The View

The Music

Leon Russell

Doobie Drummer

Carlos Reyes

Fog rolling in

Great concert this weekend at the BR Cohn Winery.  Several exceptional bands which we have our friend Chris to thank for!  It was a great day of incredible music, fine food, excellent wine and wonderful friends!

Chris & Jeannie

Like I said "Hold the bus" - NEWS FLASH -  Mr. B met Guy Fieri who was also just "schmoozing" the crowd!

"We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out." -Decca Recording Company rejecting the Beatles, 1962

No Hurry

"Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day." --Winnie the Pooh

Aunt Marie

Today in my daily journal, I filled two pages with gratitude!  Gratitude that I had an Aunt in my life who brought us all so much joy.....

My mom Betty and Aunt Marie

My Aunt Marie, who's cabin I was staying at in Tahoe, passed away while I was on vacation.  Her family had a service for her on Sunday. Yes, she had a full life, and yes she was getting "on" in years, and yes she had been fighting cancer for the last year BUT she was so very young at heart.

She always had a smile on her face and always had a kind word of encouragement....It is such a loss for our entire family.

Aunt Marie lived life in the present and never had to read a book about how to do it.

The cabin being build

The cabin in 2011

Every summer both of our families, grandparents and sometimes more would come to my Grandparents little cabin in Tahoe. The dad's were expected to work on building the cabin most of the day and the mom's would cook, clean and take care of the kids. Most days we would entertain ourselves and fish across the street in Spring Creek, hike to the meadow or Indian Grinding Rock or visit a little local radio station and bug the announcer for free records.  Usually it was just rocks and sticks to play with, no TV, no electronics, no phone but lots of comic books to read!

Uncle Cliff & my brother Dave stuck in the "swamp"

Most days my mom and Aunt would pack a lunch and take us to Baldwin beach to swim, build in the sand, float on huge inner tubes, follow our older cousins to the swamp and watch the mail plane land in the lake every day right at noon.

(I spent hours at Baldwin Beach trying to capture lightening...can you see it?)

Some days a storm would gather overhead and the moms would herd us under a tree on the beach until it stopped raining (brilliant idea in a lightening storm!). I assume they had strict orders not to return with the kids to the cabin until late afternoon!

Aunt Marie was a 4th/5th grade school teacher.  It was in her heart.





So when we were in Tahoe, she usually had an activity planned for us.  We either constructed & decorated a tepee or did some hiking off the beaten path and usually got lost for awhile.  Some days we would rent horses for the day and bring them back to the cabin but all they seemed to be interested in was heading back to the stables.  The boys would chop wood and the girls helped with collecting pine cones and washing the dinner dishes.

Cousins - Georgeanne, Kari, Chris, Marietta, Patty & Cathy

But what ever we did, we had fun!  She made sure of that!!

Great Grandma Mary and Grandma Sophie with all 12 grandchildren

.....and Aunt Marie, you were a lovely inspiration to us all and you will be missed...

 Uncle Cliff, Chris, Aunt Marie, Patty, Me (check out those glasses!), Kari and my brother Dave

Every time I see an Aspen quake, I will think of you!

Alone with myself
The trees bend to caress me
The shade hugs my heart.
~Candy Polgar

Laundry in the Woods

Last week, while I was still in Tahoe, I had some laundry that needed washing. Now normally I would of jumped in my car & gone to the closest laundry mat but on this day I was painting at the cabin and wanted to stay put. So I remembered how my mom & aunts would pull out the old wringer washing machine once a week & hang the clothes on a line in a sunny spot in the forest to dry. They talked & laughed while doing this chore together while us 12 cousins would run through the hanging clothes and chase each other. On this day last week, nostalgia hit and I decided to do the same. Although the old wringer machine is long gone, I had a Zen like moment washing my clothes in the deep kitchen sink, then hanging them on the line to dry.


     
“After enlightenment, the laundry.”
 Zen Proverb

Tahoe Wildflowers

The wildflowers are still in bloom in the Tahoe Basin. It is amazing that September has arrived and the wildflowers are just finishing their summer show.

The weather is still warm during the day but there is a crispness in the air in the early morning & evening.

"To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter... to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird's nest or a wildflower in spring - these are some of the rewards of the simple life. "
— John Burroughs

   "Look closely. The beautiful may be small."    Emmanuel Kant

Andy & Ashley & Tahoe

 

We are finally on vacation in Tahoe. I drove up with our two dogs on Friday morning, August 19 and my oldest son Andy & his girlfriend Ashley came up just a little ahead of me. They came over to my house in the morning & helped pack the cars. They insisted on doing the big grocery shopping once we arrived in Tahoe as I had the dogs in my car. They joyfully cooked Mr. B and me a wonderful breakfast the next morning.  We went to the beach, played cards, sat on the deck at the cabin visiting, cooked meals together, enjoyed looking through junk at the flea market, hiked to Angora lake, went to lunch at Fallen Leaf Lake and I taught Ashley how to throw a frisbee straight and play Canasta.
 
On the other hand Ashley taught me how to let go of my grown son just a little bit more because she showed me that he was in kind, loving hands. I cried when they had to head back to the Bay Area.
 
I also learned to see Andy in a whole new light.  Amazing to watch your children grow up.
 
Thank you both for the joy you brought with you to Tahoe!