The Way It Is

The Way It Is

There is a thread you follow.

It goes among things that change.

But it doesn't change.

People wonder about what you are pursuing.

You have to explain about the thread.

But it is hard for others to see.

While you hold it you can't get lost.

Tragedies happen;

people get hurt or die;

and you suffer and get old.

Nothing you do can stop time's unfolding.

You don't ever let go of the thread.

~William Stafford

Fearless Living

I decided I needed a little help with living with intention, facing my fears...not staying in my p.j.s

till 4pm on a Sunday. I feel stuck....paralyzed. Have you ever felt like that? In this book, Rhonda Britten (I've never seen Starting Over) takes you through exercises, asks you to answer questions and take action. Not sure that I'll get through a chapter a day, but any movement forward is a good thing. I found the questions to be challenging...requiring a lot of thought, vulnerability and honesty. We are certainly doing some digging here. I'll keep you posted of my progress.

The newest little Meissners

Introducing.......

Misty and Margaux

Margaux is a sable......

Misty is a roan

Together they spell....trouble! A week ago, Paul and I went to a ferret shelter, called the Ferret Den. Sid and Sandy are the sweetest people, they have converted part of their home into a ferret shelter. We went there for "a" ferret. These two little stinkers were surrendered together so they must be adopted together. We are in ferret "boot camp". After being without ferrets for 2 years, we're out of practice "ferret proofing" the house. Misty is a climber, she has no fear of stairs (our last 3 ferrets didn't care for stairs). Paul went to the basement and minutes later heard noises....there was Misty-covered in cobwebs. Misty can also pull herself up onto a kitchen chair...she grabs onto the seat cushion an pulls herself up, then onto the kitchen table. (I can't even do 1 straight leg push-up)

Yikes! What a handful! Margaux is the quieter of the two. She interacts with us much more than Misty. Getting to know their personalities is very fun. It's great to have little fuzzies around again. They are always doing things to make us laugh out loud.

Snow Toward Evening

Suddenly the sky turned gray,
The day,

Which had been bitter and chill,

Grew soft and still.

Quiety

From some invisible blossoming tree

Millions of petal cool and white

Drifted and blew,

Lifted and flew,

Fell with the falling night.

~Melville Cane

Wishing you.......

Peace on Earth

Merry Christmas!

my car is in there somewhere......

A couple of days ago, 12 inches of snow covered our area. Two days later, acoupla more inches, today up to 6 more! No worries here for a white Christmas. The piles of snow are increasing, our driveway is starting to look like a bobsled run. Grateful am I that we insulated our house last year.
A goodly number of years ago, I watched Reading Rainbow. They featured a book called "Winter Poems". A very sweet book with lovely illustrations.

from SNOW STORM

What a night! The wind howls, hisses, and but stops
To howl more loud, while the snow volley keeps
Incessant batter at the window-pane,
Making our comforts feel as sweet again;
And in the morning, when the tempest drops,
At every cottage door mountainous heaps
Of snow lie drifted, then all entrance stops
Until the broom and the shovel gain
The path, and leave a wall on either side

~John Clare

Be warm!

I'm trying to get my butt in gear. Live my life with intention.
Not just doing things because they've always been done
that way. There are habits and attitudes to change. I'm
feeling stuck. I've noticed I act too much upon my feelings,
I don't feel like exercising, I don't feel like blah, blah, blah.
That discipline....where is it? I'm having a tough time
trying to put into words what it is I'm after....but the feelings
are strong indeed. I know I don't spend enough time in
quiet. There is always some sort of background noise on.
I think my heart is aching to be listened to.....but then
there's a certain amount of fear......

'twas a dark and stormy night

We're in the midst of a snow storm--lightening even! There is supposed to be 8-12 inches of snow. The storm team on tv is tracking the storm, before a flake had fallen--our man was out on the street. He's still out there, this time covered in white. The wind is picking up from the east and blowing snow, scultures are forming on my car. I love watching it snow, I'd rather watch it than be out driving in it. It's so beautiful....this sparkling, glistening snow. Before the plows come, before cars come through. Its pristine whiteness covers everything like a fluffy blanket. Oh, to see a snow angel. Today I stay in with my head and chest cold. Stay in where it's warm and keep watch with cup after cup of tea.

......a little later, a little lighter....it's still snowing. Paul didn't get the snow blower to work, so he's out shoveling. Heavy and deep.

This little green gazing ball hangs right outside the front door. The wind is dancing with the ribbon. It's a quiet day, listening to this CD.

Intentions

A few of months ago, Stephanie Lee posted about writing out your intentions. Here is an excerpt from her post of Sept. 10 2008 (in fact go read it....)

"With a paper or journal or notebook in hand, set a timer for 10 minutes and set it aside where you can't see it. (too many rules already? Well, I'm not there to enforce them. I'm just laying out the ideal conditions. We want a fair contest don't we?) :) So...book. check. pen. check. timer. check. (what's that you say? the cat wants out? Put her out before you start the timer so she doesn't pester you the whole time. the dog can wait ten minutes.)Imagine that you got up just a little bit earlier and carved a little room in your pre-active morning for a little intention setting. No...wait...it's not that directive. At this point we are just going to imagine what we want - for our day, for ourselves only. Not for others."

I'm a list maker, I have to write things down, without rules (they're more like guidelines-- arrrgh) I can't and don't focus. I am amazed at how much time gets frittered away at say, playing "crack attack". Why is it that I can spend 20 minutes on 1 game of crack and turn around and say, I don't have time for (fill in the blank). Then you hear the old adages like

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions". Well, what are you supposed to do with that?

Do you get overwhelmed like I do, with all those "good intentions"? I'm going to start today, with 1....one intention. baby steps. My knees hurt, (did I mention I need a partial knee replacement?) Today I will take 30 mins. out of my day and do something just for me, knee therapy. Next week, add 1.....one thing more. Here's the deal, I need some accountability.

I'm putting this out there, PLEASE check on me and help me keep on track.

I need to lose 50 lbs. Right now I'm in that stinking downward spiral.......I need to lose weight, must exercise but my knees hurt, so I don't exercise, lalala.

The photo above was taken before I left work one day (night?) last week.

to be nobody but yourself

to be nobody

but yourself

in a world

which is doing its best,

night and day,

to make you everybody else

means to fight the hardest battle

which any human being can fight,

and never stop fighting.

e.e. cummings

It's more tiring to avoid than to do

Filled with emotion that I am just not sure what to do with. My modus operandi is to eat, but it's not working for me anymore, well, it works but.....I need to do something more constructive, than destructive. I can't live in denial and avoidance anymore. Paul and I drove my mom to Adams (it's about a 2 and a quarter hour drive) to visit my dad (they've been divorced since the late 70's---and are friendly toward one another) and his sister and her husband. I was apprehensive about the trip. I love my mother, but for whatever reason, she loves to control with guilt trips. The trip went well...thankfully, the visits were cut short due to snow moving through the area. I am glad my mom and dad got to see each other, probably for the last time. My mother's remaining lung is starting to shut down. My dad has prostate cancer, and I saw a huge lump on the side of his neck. He's an ornery ol' cuss. As much as they drive me crazy, I will miss them terribly when they are gone. Waves of emotion sweep over me and I just don't know how to express them. I am excited and just a little scared to move forward. It's much easier and much more comforatble to stay with the statue quo than to change. Stepping out of your comfort zone is pretty unnerving. It's time. I feel something urging me to move ahead.

Marci and alcohol inks

Marci is addicted to alcohol inks. The colors are great, she used felt, her fingers and the blending solutions. They look just beautiful.
She was able to get some interesting effects by twisting and turning the ornament and letting the ink run.

She used alcohol inks to paint pictures with to. She painted on acetate. You can't tell from the picture, but with the sunlight hits it the colors reflect off the wall. Cool effect.

Marci's big flower, again on acetate. We found this wooden frame. I think she will paint it and glue the acetate to it. When it stands against the wall, the light shines the image onto the wall.

A Day of Sharing Song

"Let Me Fall"

Let me fall

Let me climb

There's a moment when fear

And dreams must collide

Someone I am

Is waiting for courage

The one I want

The one I will become

Will catch me

So let me fall

If I must fall

I won't heed your warnings

I won't hear them

Let me fall

If I fall

Though the phoenix may

Or may not rise

I will dance so freely

Holding on to no one

You can hold me only

If you too will fall

Away from all these

Useless fears and chains

Someone I am

Is waiting for my courage

The one I want

The one I will become

Will catch me

So let me fall

If I must fall

I won't heed your warnings

I won't hear

Let me fall

If I fall

There's no reason

To miss this one chance

This perfect moment

Just let me fall

Click here to visit the hosts site! Thanks LK!

A Little More Sharing

Words make you think a thought. Music makes you feel a feeling. A song makes you feel a thought. E.Y. Harburg
A Day of Sharing Song
The idea: Songs can move us to places we haven't been in a long time, places we long for every day, or places we some day hope to be. The combination of music and poetry can transport us across distances, and through the years. While we listen, perhaps we grin wildly, or are moved to tears. We all have songs that are "ours" in our very hearts. We have songs that touch us, move into our hearts and resonate, creating a feeling, taking us some place- past, present, future- perhaps some place we have never been and may never go, but for whatever reasons, the song sings for us.
Meeting new music, musicians, composers, poets, new ways for my soul to sing, is an intruiging concept. Want to go on this adventure with me? It will be easy to travel along.
Many of us already do this sharing; this idea is just to help us find each other and hear the words we have to share.
The Date: Wednesday, December 3.
The Plan: on your blog, post a song that moves inside you, touches you, reaches you. You can do any or all of the folowing:
link to a youtube video (done as you would normally post a link)
link to itunes or amazon for a sample of the song
embed the youtube clip (instructions here)
post just song lyrics
post multiple songs, if you can't choose just one.
Include the composer and/or musician and source (book, album). Perhaps also include the amazon or itunes link if there is one. no explanation required, no other revelation necessary. One last thing- Perhaps add an image. a photo. a video. a painting. a collage., if you would.
Come here to this post.
http://gryphonsfeather.typepad.com/the_poetic_eye/2008/11/a-little-more-sharing.html
Add a comment with your link.
I'll create a typepad page with the links, so others can hear the song, see the image and share in the experience.
The Request:
If you are intrigued enough, post on your blog about this Day of Sharing Song. Link to this post.
http://gryphonsfeather.typepad.com/the_poetic_eye/2008/11/a-little-more-sharing.html
Send an email to encourage your friends to post.
Pass along this info to any groups in which you participate.
Who couldn't use a few new songs in their hearts?

Now if only I could narrow it down to one or two!