Tuesday, April 26, 2011

In the Garden

Last week was about flowers and plants and mulch and earth.
It was a week full of sunshine and birdsong,
of stretched muscles and relaxed minds.
It was a week of quiet communing and finding
my rhythm.

Spring 2011


Wednesday, April 20, 2011

"Better, Stronger, Faster"

Yesterday we had 10 yards of mulch delivered and dropped in the backyard.  This  is equal to approximately 5 pick-up truck loads full.  Today I began pitching the mulch into wheel barrow loads and dumping it all along the tree and shrubbery lines.  My arms have not had this type of work out for some time now and after my treadmill run/walk on Monday and Tuesday and the mulch today, I am feeling muscles I have not felt in a while.  As I was finishing my shower tonight the phrase “we can rebuild her” came to mind.  It feels like I am being rebuilt and this makes me smile (and hurt too).  I smile because I loved the Bionic Woman and the Six Million Dollar Man as a child which is where this phrase came from, and because literally I being rebuilt, fiber by fiber, and gaining strength in body and spirit.  Of course I don’t feel like this every day.  Someday’s I don’t feel human much less super human but I am trying to celebrate the days in between and make peace on the subhuman days too. 

Thinking of the Bionic Woman makes me also think of Wonder Woman.  These are my favorite two super heroes.  I think we need super hero’s no matter what our age.  Super heroes allow the imagination to run wild and play in the land of what if’s.  They allow us to try on a persona and imagine how we would use those superpowers. 

I plan to use my bionic arm and super stamina again tomorrow to continue pitching and spreading this mulch. 
What super powers are you using this week and who are your favorite super heroes?

By the way "Better, Stronger, Faster" is one of the catch phrases used to describe the Bionic Woman.     

Monday, April 18, 2011

Give me Some Sugar


Spring 2011
 The hummingbird that I spotted last week found the feeder and is now on the second batch of sugar water.  I think she may have company too because it sounded like dive bombers flying by when I was making my yogurt.  They have their sugar water and I am having greek yogurt with chopped pecans and honey drizzled on top.  We both needed some sugar this morning.  The Tom Petty song Honey Bee is also stuck in my head and I have caught myself hummming and singing this song for days now. 

In case you have hummingbird's and need a sugar water recipe, here you go. It is super simple. 

Hummingbird Water
4 parts water
1 part sugar
Bring to a gentle boil
Remove from heat
Cool
Store in refrigerator (lasts for 1-2 weeks)
Be sure to keep the feeder clean and replenished with fresh sugar water about every 3-4 days.

In the beginning of the season I make small batches and in the summer larger ones.  I also sometimes give them more sugar and they seem to love it.  At first it was by accident because I kept thinking it was 1 part sugar, 3 parts water, but then when I saw how much they loved the strong stuff I kept making it that way.  I tried Sugar in the Raw one time before and they would not touch it.  I guess they like the refined white stuff.

Now I am off to mow the lawn before we get more rain. Everything is so green and lush outside right now from all of the rain and warmer weather.  I love the surprise growth that takes place over night and how the world feels so new right now.

Hope you enjoy your Monday and your week.  Peace Out!

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Dear Future Self

Earlier this week when I was having a really great day I flipped ahead in my journal to almost the very end and wrote my future self a letter.  You see I have been having enormous shifts lately in perspective, mood, emotion, focus, self esteem, in my home and in my relationships. You name it, it is shifting.  So while I was having this great day where I felt like nothing could possibly bring me down I thought I had better write my future self a note because she was going to need it.  I also thought with all of this shifting taking place I may lose sight of important goals and activities that help ground me.   The funny thing is that I was having such a great day that I think that I wrote to her a little too far in the future because the next day I sure could have used her advice.  That really great day that I was having was followed by three days blazing downhill.

Today has been another great day however.  Ordinary really, but trust me after this roller coaster that is exactly what I wanted.  Just.Ordinary.That.Is.It.  And in the stillness it came to me. Why not send your future self an e-mail or two or 30 for that matter.  Just quick one liners like..Are you doing things for YOU or for other people because when you please yourself at least someone is happy.  I read that somewhere this week and loved it. This may sound selfish but for someone that almost always thinks of how something will effect everyone else before I think of how it will effect me, well this is big.  Or how about....It has been about 28 days and that may be why you are craving chocolate more than normal and crying while watching a butterfly float by.  I mean I do love chocolate and I am tenderhearted but trust me some of this is just hormones too.  Ones I really need right now...This too shall pass.  All of this is just a cycle and you are headed in the right direction.  Think the best of people, that is really who you are and that is really how people react to you when you do.  Have you worked out lately?  Remember how much this gives you an instant mood lift?  Pizza is good for you and makes you happy...maybe today would be a good day to treat yourself to a slice. 

What do you do when you are in a funk and need a reminder that life really is good?  I hope that life is so very good for you right now.  I know it is for me, but like I said my future self may really need a reminder.

Monday, April 11, 2011

What I know today

Dragonfly painted last week
I know I am heading in the right direction.
It is neither North or South or East or West.
It is inward.
I am mining for gold and lost treasure.
On a grand hunt for broken pottery of another time
that are longing to be turned into a colorful mosaic.

Last week was a week of ups and downs.  Worry and hope and joy were felt for a friend far away.  Longing was felt for a friend close by. Books were returned. Packages were mailed.  Recycling was sorted and taken away. Feelings were worn on sleeves, tears were shed, hugs were shared, and time marched on. Walls were painted as well as dragonflies in blue and in green.  Ladders were climbed and fallen off of too. There was kind doctoring to scraped skin by Pap Bear. Weeds were pulled and flowing conversations were shared between Mother and Daughter in the middle of crouching and pulling, hauling and raking....about life, and love, and about plants of course. Dinner was shared between family and a baby was held and passed around and loved.  A little dog whimpered and cried that never makes a peep in this way.  Hours of soothing and rubbing and up and down gave way to a 4:30 am trip to the emergency vet. Hearts were thumping in throats and tears kept at bay for as long as possible.  Relief was breathed and later coffee was brewed to help stave off sleep a few hours more.  A baby shower was missed. A confrontation was avoided.  Snuggling and deep sleep was had. Ceiling fans and tops of cabinets were cleaned. Walls were sanded. Cracks were caulked.  A pizza was ordered. Conversations flowed, stories and confidences were shared.  Storms washed away previous work done outdoors.  Sleep came early. Sunday was slow and relished like it had not been for months.  Pancakes were eaten and pajamas worn as the outfit of the day. 

Much Light and Love to you as you go about your week. 

Monday, April 4, 2011

Throw Open the Windows

Today it is sunny and windy with a chance for severe storms expected late this evening.  At this moment though it is the perfect day with the bluest sky and the greenest new leaves bursting forth from the trees, the air is warm and cool, and the sun is bright and cheery.  If Goldilocks was to give her opinion I believe she would say it is just right.

We have been doing so much sawing and painting that this gusty day is just what we needed to breathe new life in and take away the old.....for both me and the house.  So I threw open the windows upstairs in my office and also in the guest bedroom on the opposite side of the house.  I am caught in the middle of a wonderful cross breeze.

Hanging Rock, NC 2009


Throw open the windows
and let the air rush through like a snakey tributary
flushing out the old and outdated dust clinging to your bones.

Throw open the windows
and breathe in the cobalt blue sky.
Let it fill you up
and up and up
until you are floating high above the tree tops.

Throw open the windows
to your heart, to the very center
and receive the blessings that are ripe and to be shared
and received like a communion between you and the universe.

Throw open the windows
and just sit.
Feel the wind dancing over your skin
tickling the hairs on your arms and holding you
in a gentle embrace.

Throw open the windows
and hear the music and how the leaves dance
in fervor across the lawn and listen to the trees
sway in delight.

Throw open the windows
and allow this push and pull,
this give and take,
this spring cleaning  to commence.