Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Reflections on The End of 2008.....


In Many Ways....
I look at the Migrant Mother photo...it haunts me...because I see that Woman in my eyes...and other mom's eyes and I carry it in my heart ....it is WHY I blog...and blog so much...We are living through an important part of Our History.....the most difficult Challenging ever....for many of us...it is Up to Us HOW we get through this...about Adapting , Learning and Taking Care of Each Other....Empathy is part of Survival.

But really I am the Gold Dust Woman....because I am always looking for the Golden Moments...mining for it....in small moments and trying to share it, songs, music, photos, art and even stories,anything to Stoke Our Humanity...to help us come through This Time Intact, I am part Gypsy, Part Nurse, Part Appalachian Mama,part worried librarian ...so of course I look for the Gold........it is my way of Hopemongering.....

It started long ago...in the Seventies when I was in Highschool I studied Wildflowering....( in Appalachia that is the study and collecting of Herbs to heal....my parents were not impressed with my Herbal Studies...) But it taught me that What we need to Heal and Care for Each Other is around us.....we just have to look....and open our Hearts...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Gold Dust Woman"....by Fleetwood Mac

Neko Case " Hold On , Hold On"...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So I will be here....writing it all..trying to capture it writing Our History with Heart and Hope....and yes, with Honesty and Empathy......Happy New Year....

Remembering People that matter ...on New Years Eve...

On New Years Eve I always remember the two girls we fostered when 6-6 was 6....They stayed with us most of that fall , Halloween and that Christmas...and New Years...and we tried to give them what they mom could not....she was lost in a Drug Haze....They were beautiful girls....15 and 6....It was good for him to have some sisters for a time...They loved him...and he loved them...They used to sing to him....especially in the car....and this song was their favorite to sing to him....And now all these years later...I hope they grew up to be safe and loved....and happy.

Spice Girls.....

((( they had not a clue of the sexy part of this song...they just liked singing it ....they were just little girls....}}}

Friday, December 12, 2008

A NEW List....JOB List..

So here is my theory...that we all can get through these times if we just adapt....and change and flow with it...What kind of jobs have you had ? has it shaped your life ?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is a List of Jobs I have had...Some I worked for pay...some I worked for trades, I worked a barn so my son could ride and learn to ride, etc....so bartering is in a way a useful skill....
1.waitress ( over and over)
2.worked concert halls and political events ( coat checks, and service for events)
3.Stage crew for plays
4.Lighting for bands at a Baltimore Bar
5.Lifeguard,
6.Pool Manager
7.Swimming Instructor
8.Stall Cleaner and care of 20 Horse Barn ( trade for lessons for son)
9.Horse Therapy/grooming and Massage ( Tellington Touch)
10.Research for a News Station in College
11.nurse's aid.volunteer ( highschool and junior High , Special Olympics and Childrens Hospital,
also was a Reader and did puppet shows....)
12.Hospice Volunteer ( started when 17, before that volunteered)
13.Parking Lot Attendent at Harbor Construction Site
14.Bartending
15.Taught HIV/AIDS Classes for years in Seattle 1988-1998
16. Cofounded a Environmental Health Non Profit
17. Red Cross Disaster Volunteer
18.Reader for Blind College Students
19.tutoring
20.housecleaning
21.Pet Care
22.volunteer at Nature Center ( rehabing Wild Animals- bears to baby squirrels)
23. Market Checkout
24.Rickshaw Driver in Baltimore ( first female one in early 80's Harbor)
25.Inventory Bookeeping at a resturante
26.Personal Trainer ( taught eexercise classes at gym for free membership)
27.Worked at 2nd Hand Store
28.worked in Special Dress Shop In Baltimore ( where I met Oprah....)
29.And yes, I am still a nurse..an RN....( PEDS, Hospice,PICU,ER,AIDS Nursing....)

I need Tropical.....It's Frigging Cold by Lake Erie....


No Woman No Cry....

Rivers of Babylon...

Friday, December 05, 2008

THE LIST....click on the ones that you have done...and then do the list of things you want to DO...


While you sip some warm coffee...ponder this 100 List...and see How Many of these you have done...great list Stolen from DK at Redheaded Wisdom....

I HAVE... **{{ means I did it}}**
1. Started my own blog **
2. Slept under the stars**
3. Played in a band** {{ Did Lights, and also tamborine and back up}}
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower ** {{ many times}}
6. Given more than I can afford to charity **{{{ yup..over and over }}}**
7. Been to Disneyland/world ** {{{ disney world}}}**
8. Climbed a mountain **{{{ yup..}}**
9. Held a praying mantis *** {{{ son had pet one, also walkingstick and pet slug too}}}**
10. Sung a solo ***{{ don't ask- it was totally embarrassing}}}}***
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched lightning at sea *** {{{ had a sailor boyfriend}}}***
14. Taught myself an art from scratch ***{{ many jewelery, caligraphy,chinese painting etc}}***
15. Adopted a child *** {{{ fostered two girls,sisters one year}}}***
16. Had food poisoning **** {{many times}}}***
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty ***{{{ went pretty high- not sure how high}}}**
18. Grown my own vegetables *** {{ many many times}}}***
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train***{{many times}}***
21. Had a pillow fight***{{{ many times}}**
22. Hitchhiked*** {{ as a dumb teen}}}***
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill ***{{{ gulp..yup}}***
24. Built a snow fort ***{{{ yup...}}***
25. Held a lamb****{{{ yup}}***
26. Gone skinny dipping ***{{{ yup..many times}}}****
27. Run a Marathon*** {{{ used to run half marathons in college}}**
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse *** {{{yup}}***
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset ***{{{ both many times}}}***
31. Hit a home run *** {{{ long time ago}}}***
32. Been on a cruise ***{{ gone on overnight sailing trips...not sure that counts}}}***
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors***{{{ In UK and also in Kentuckey and West Va.}}}**
35. Seen an Amish community **{{ many times}}}***
36. Taught myself a new language *** {{ some french, some thai,some spanish }}***
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied ***{{ sometimes}}**
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing *** {{{ yup, and I sucked }}***
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke *** {{ don't ask}}}***
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant ****{{{yup}**
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight **{{{ many times}}}***
46. Been transported in an ambulance*** {{{ also worked on one, son had bad asthma attack went with him}}***
47. Had my portrait painted *** {{{ had photos taken for a friends photo class, and he did also paint it...ugh}}***
48. Gone deep sea fishing ***{{{ kind of, we went but did not catch much }}}***
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling *** {{{ as a teen snorkeling, also swam with dolphins }}}}***
52. Kissed in the rain **** {{yup }}****
53. Played in the mud **** {{{yup with son}}}****
54. Gone to a drive-in **{{ long ago}}}***
55. Been in a movie *** {{ son and I were Extra's in Singles, I was asked to Extra in Spiderman filmed in 2006- turned down}}}**
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business **** {{yup}***
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen***{{{ yup}***
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies *** {{ and bought}}**
62. Gone whale watching ***{{{ many times}}***
63. Got flowers for no reason **** {{{not in a long time}}}***
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma *** {{{not recently}}**
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check **{{{ oooops by accident, rare}}**
68. Flown in a helicopter *** {{ ex was a fight nurse, I begged for a fly , but watched him alot}}}**
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy *** {{ yup}}***
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial ***{{many times}}**
71. Eaten Caviar ***{{ yup...rare}}**
72. Pieced a quilt **{{ many }}**
73. Stood in Times Square **{{ yup, long ago}}}**
74. Toured the Everglades **{{ long ago}}***
75. Been fired from a job *** {{ got in a fight with a big company - about AIDS care}}***
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London **{{yup}}}**
77. Broken a bone ***{{many}***
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle ***{{{ not sure if it was going too fast}}}***
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book*** {{ long ago}}}***
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car **{{ long ago}}}***
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper **{{{ embarrassing}}}**
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House *** {{ not the inside}}}****
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating ***{{{ it was a fish, does that count}}}***
88. Had chickenpox**{{{ yup}}***
89. Saved someone’s life *** {{{ yup..1st time I was 11, a drowning, and then as a nurse}}}***
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous **** {{{{ a few }}}***
92. Joined a book club **{{joined a few}}**
93. Lost a loved one **{{{yup}}**
94. Had a baby ****{{ yup}}**
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake **{{{ did not swim in it- did see- it's gross}}**
97. Been involved in a law suit **{{ yup}}}***
98. Owned a cell phone **** {{{{ yup.....since 1999}****
99. Been stung by a bee ***{{{ a few times, I am allergic...not good..}}}***
100. Ridden an elephant *** {{ I was little won a contest, I was 5- or 6....it was wonderful, it was a baby}}}***

Sunday, November 30, 2008

November Sunset....Bare Trees and Brittle Cold.....


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Snow has come and gone a few times now...and ice and walking in slurpy sludge has lost it's magic...in winter with Bare Trees the light takes on a special magic....and warmth.....a magician's twilight....

Lorenna McKinnet " Mummers Dance"......

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Cold Winter Night....Catching the Light


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Behind my house there are old Brownstone apartment type buildings with wooden porches that are full of beautiful icicles, dripped from the railings and when the Light hits, they look so amazing, I have tried to photograph them catching the Light.....like hand blown glass....delicate yet strong...medieval, yet majestic....and magical...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dan Fogelberg....." To the Morning"...

Monday, November 17, 2008

Snow on a Sunday Night....


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
First Real Snow of the Winter.....falling softly ...quietly....the mounds of leaves are all covered with snow...like powdered sugar.....dancing flakes scatter by the street lights...we are supposed to have snow all week....but the virgin snow is the most special...precious...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
and for some reason Dan Fogelberg always reminds me of snow....winter quiet....night snow...."Wysteria"

Sunday, November 02, 2008

The Vote...


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is the Song I will have in my head and my heart when I vote..I don't know why but Scottish Music and Drums and Bagpipes is always what I hear when I am voting...

Friday, October 24, 2008

Autumn Winds....


I love this time of year...it smells like burnt S'Mores...and crisp bagels and coffee when I walked the dog....and the leaves are crunching under my shoes....the leaves are changing color rapidly but falling fast with winds and stormy nights....There are goards, and pumpkins on porches and marigolds in pots....and Halloween decorations of ghosts and harvest ....

Phil Collins " True Colors" beautiful video...photo montage..and backpipes...

Waterlust...more....


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My favorite water spot...go there all the time in my dreams....oh well....someday I will go back...thousands of miles away...
Music...amazing Water video and Water Life...Fat Boy Slim "Right Here, Right Here Now".....

Monday, October 20, 2008

Moondreaming......


The Moon was amazing last week...the night of the last debate...it took my breath away....

Friday, October 17, 2008

Friday Morning....Autumn Leaves....


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
David Sanborn....always reminds me of Autumn...not sure why...

and Carly's Song ( from Hideaway....best album ever...)

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

One Funny Horse..."Patches"

Wander Lust....


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sometimes the road is just calling...I would love to go away...Somewhere....Anywhere....

Fast Car by Tracy Chapman......

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Saturday Night.....10.11.08


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Have to take the garden down soon...but one more look....my 3 Dollar garden that fed my soul all summer....I will miss it...but I have liked sharing it with you....

Al Stewart and Peter White " On the Border".....

Friday, October 10, 2008

Too Many Late Nights....


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Leaves are falling....don't you love Bare Trees when they are standing strong and branches lifted to the sky....Anyways....6-6 and I have both been battling Sleep....so below are some songs....middle of the night songs....I listen to alot of Matchbox 20 in the Middle of the Night....( Click the Title some Maya Angelou...."Still I Rise")
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2am....Breathe

3am....

yeah....it's' because there are people that I miss...

"If you're gone." Matchbox20...

Thursday, October 09, 2008

To a Friend....Happy Birthday...


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Many years ago I made a friend....We met at a Coffee Shop in the Northwest...I was immediately aware of his humor, his wisdom, his sensitivity, and his ability to read situations. Before we ever met I watched him at the Coffee Shop how kind he was to others, the way he would offer a chair, or a better muffin, or a joke when it was needed. He taught me the value of Empathy and Listening. This week he turns 50 and he is thousands of miles away...

We have spent many hours talking....over the years....walking in the rain, sitting on my porch at all hours....making pancakes....and drinking Chai Tea...and reading ....and yes dissecting American Politics...and reviewing the Culture of America and other Places....and he has helped me learn many things about my son....and raising a boy....he helped me keep anchored when life became more than rocky...there is no way I can let him know how much richer and better he has made my life.....He has been a Gift....... In many ways he is the Brother I never had..and he knows it....I can only say Namaste....

The two songs below always remind me of him and how blessed...truly lucky I have been to have him as a friend...and that I always carry him in my heart.....and that there is always a place on my porch just for him...always...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Name"

"Iris"...especially that this song is in the Pouring Rain....


IF you were here my friend we would go sit and have tea and coffee and muffins....These two songs always came on in the car when I was driving around digging through boxes of toxic documents....I would drive home pondering the documents and the FOIAS and how the trail of paper led to our sick friends and obituaries of neighbors ...and as I write Silent Fallout I know that the lessons from those years were a gift....Namaste.

Monday, October 06, 2008

Monday Night Musings....


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is Volunteer Park in Seattle...it is a Special Spot ....A really wonderful park...has wonderful grounds to walk the dog and play frisbee and there is a beautiful GreenHouse, the Conservatory.....when you go there there are 4 different rooms , when my son was little I used to take him there, there was the Hawaii room with orchids and a koi pond....there is a Desert Room with tall Cacti....It helped me to talk my son to different places of wonder....

And then we could walk down the hill and there is a wonderful playground and wading pool...it was the first park I ever took my son to....he was days old....and then there is the Asian Art Museum....it was my son's favorite museum for years....he loved the Buddha Room....and by the Playground there is a Cemetary....When my son was four I took him there for picnics and we would do rubbings off the gravestones...that is how I taught him his alphabet....and Chinese Characters....but also the wonder of touching stone....smooth stone...engraved with messeges of love.

And when things would go wrong....or we were down...we would get a Bag of bagels and go visit the Lucky Bagel...and rub it's cool dark smooth surface....Touching it brought serenity....and hope...the Lucky Bagel taught my son the Power of Circles...

"Hold On..Hold On"...Neko Case....( she comes from the Northwest..and her songs capture the spirit of this wonderful place....)

This is the song I sang to my son for many years....now I just hum it when I clean on Sundays....Simply Red " Holding Back the Years".....funny how the years slide away so fast...

(click the title ...."Kiss from a Rose" Seal...6-6 loved this song....used to hum it all the time..)

Friday, October 03, 2008

Then it was Friday.....10.03.08



[[ really good receipe for Zucchini Bread over at NAKED SUSHI....on Watergate Summer Blogroll...click the title "Thank You " Dido....]]

Thursday, October 02, 2008

Then it was October....


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A really big Thank You ....to Walking Man..for being here...and for saying things that are profound and wise..and incredibly kind....nice to know there are still Sage Souls in the world...Click the Title the song is "Fearless"......by the Neville Brothers.

Monday, September 29, 2008

Some Magic for Monday....


About Holding On...even when the Surf is High...some Fleetwood Mac.....

And what connects us all.....The Chain...

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Then it was Thursday....



Really beautiful video....I have been tied up with Politics.....

"Democracy will not come
Today, this year
Nor ever
Through compromise and fear.

I have as much right
As the other fellow has
To stand
On my two feet
And own the land.

I tire so of hearing people say,
Let things take their course.
Tomorrow is another day.
I do not need my freedom when I'm dead.
I cannot live on tomorrow's bread.

Freedom
Is a strong seed
Planted
In a great need.

I live here, too.
I want freedom
Just as you."
Langston Hughes

Friday, September 19, 2008

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Thursday, September 11, 2008

September 11 Tribute....


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Posted on Watergate Summer Sept 11, 2007....Post below was written on the eve of 9.11.01, I have never put it on my blog before.I wrote this about 12 hours after the 2nd Tower Fell.I was living in the Northwest in a small town in a little house with a little picket fence at the time, my son was 10,and I was still married.I wrote this sitting on my porch, late at night.I have lived in 5 places since then, and my son has grown into a teenager....I have tried to always make him a Home....and give him a sense of Peace and Community.My own heartbroken path has taken me on spiritual journey that can not be denied....and yes,it is intrinsically woven into this Dark Time in our History and has been drastically affected by This Regime.I am even more sad for this Country, Our Country, then when I wrote this....I still treasure what matters....I blog it everyday.
namaste.
*****************************************************
[Please do read the Comment Thread Below esp the Comments by Deudersson and his life in NYC after 911, it is beautiful]
*****************************************************
Shattered Dreams and Unsung Heroes 9.11.01... 11pm

We went to bed last night and we woke up and nothing will ever be the same.Our televisions brought us such images of death and destruction that have never even been portrayed on movie screens.Not at home, Not in Our Backyard. Not Here, Please not here, not in Our Home Lands.Not in the United States.And then we listen to familiar Voices trying to explain what can not be explained, Peter Jennings and Arron Brown so calmly trying. A New York Skyline resculpted by a monsters plan, a shredded symbol.

As these images flash across the screen I am left with images in my mind of people trying desperately trying to get to those they Love.Firemen groping in rubble and smoke.Unsung Heroes who ran into buildings to help people because that is their calling.

Reporters and cameramen filming while running desperately trying to still get the Truth Out.I am stuck with the realization that hours earlier, they had breakfast,walked their dogs,laughed with their kids..Hours later they may have been clutching perhaps a wallet photo and whispering "Goodbye"and "I Love you " into a cellphone...Courage is found in the Rubble and the Dust,dark smoke does not cloud such Bravery....Rubble,ashes,and paper falling like snow, like tears.....a Deadly Rain.

Tonight my son is drawing SuperHeros with his friend, and they are eating peanut butter sandwichs, and my dog is in the yard, and my cat is still pestering the Canary outside in his cage under such a blue sky, and those skies are so ominously silent.My husband is a flight nurse and I look expectantly at the skies, for the first time EVER I don't want to see him flying.I want his feet on the ground.And I am haunted by the date, 911.. Emergency.

So What do we do now my son asks ? It is a good question. Then he asks about the People Wanting Revenge, and I have to tell him that for this level of destruction and death,there is perhaps there is no Retribution, that Revenge does not measure out when there is Such Evil at Work.We have to stay calm and focused,being careful not to judge What we can not understand.

So what to We Do now? .....Perhaps we try to take care of each other,hug our kids a little harder,check on neighbors,give blood, and we pray and we light candles. Be gentle to each other my friends and have Hope. And remember days like these are full of Unsung Heroes that can be eclipsed by the tragedy of the moment. They are People just like You.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
photo borrowed from Hope's Blog.

Saturday, September 06, 2008

Friday Night Thoughts and Music


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I am sick of the politics and the lies and the angst that go with it...the churning of events....Someday I want to be able to fly again...go away...to Sri Lanka..or Thailand or Bali.....it's funny ...but Youtube has enriched my life and even made me homesick for places I have never been...So I am so bittersweet grateful....I hope that we have new leadership...and I get taken off the No Fly List..and we find some semblence of sanity again...I hope I pray...Because I have seen it all come "Undone"...

Duran Duran..."Saving a prayer"....

I just want an "Ordinary World"...again....somehow,,,

I am just waiting for a New Day...."Sunrise"

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Wednesday thoughts and ponderings....


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Charles W.Cushman 1930's
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have to believe in "Better Days" ....( music by the Goo Goo Dolls )

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Baltimore....(or how Randy Newman stopped a Riot during a Snowstorm)


The Story Behind the Song....

I was telling my son about Baltimore, I have many stories from that era of my life....and I was telling him about my First Randy Newman Concert. It was winter,many years ago and it was bitter cold and snowing....It was in an old Dance Hall, and people showed up mostly for the Main Act which was the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Now This was the same year that "Short People" came out and believe it or not Little People would come and protest at Randy's Concerts.

So outside waiting in the snowstorm was the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Fans ( alot of Bikers ) and then the Protesting Midgets and Dwarves. And I am not sure why, but they were not getting along.So then the Parrotheads arrived, somehow they were there to see both bands. So they were in their Full Margauritaville Gear with Hawaii Shirts and funny hats. So The Management let all of us in. I was with my sister who was in a DISCO phase and really pissed at me for dragging her to "this dumass circus of a concert". There I sat in my Hippy gear, patched jeans , Indian top, and 2nd hand coat and clogs smoking clove cigarettes. It was not a Sisterly loving event. ( I invited her because her date cancelled and I had an extra ticket.)

So the Dance Hall is packed every old battered wooden theater seat is full and Everyone has made their way in, the Pissed Off Little People, the Rowdy Bikers, and the Parrotheads.... So the waiting begins.

Well, it turns out that the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band was not coming...and would not be coming. And that supposedly their Bus had broken down somewhere. Now the Audience had to be told this....So there are Pissed off Little People marching up and down the aisles, and then now the Bikers were about to be given a bad blow. So a little tiny wisp of a man came out to deliver the bad news....

" I have some troubling news, I am not sure when or if the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is coming. But if you want to wait for them, because they had some bus trouble, then I am sure they will be here when Randy Finishes playing, Maybe"

His voice cracked and rose off and on, sweat ran down his little face. By the time he was done the Bikers were on their feet yelling " We want our Godamn Money Back NOW !!!!

Meanwhile the Parrotheads have all settled in to watch the show- and are getting stoned and blowing up HUGE Beachballs and bouncing them around the audience. Meanwhile the angry little people are still stomping around the aisles.And the Bikers are now stamping their feet and Yelling and getting ready to Break Something.

My sister sitting there in her leather pants and her Donna Summer tube top was looking disgusted, and " I wish I was anywhere else!!". Someone handed her a Flask and told her " Here Darlin' have some Courage", She mellowed considerably.

And while the Tension rose and the Noise got louder, the Little Man on the stage said, "Without Further ado- I give you Randy Newman".......

So out comes Randy, still putting on his jacket, looking a bit rumpled like he just fell off the bus....He quickly gauged the room... and came out on stage and sat at the Piano and started talking....as soothing as a Fine Southern Gentleman , telling the Bikers not to worry that he would keep them happy until The Band arrived, and apologizing to the Little People, and even making nice jokes about his gratitude to the Mysterious Parrotheads and their doobies and beach balls. ( No one was even sure why they were there...). He had a rambling style like a traveling Medicine Man offering some sweet bottled Sunshine and promises out the back of a wagon as he stroked the piano keys.

He sang it all Blues, Ray Charles, Some Jimmy Buffet, and some Willie Nelson.....all of it...He used his music to make peace that snowy night.....

And this Song was how he began his show....".Baltimore"....a much longer version....

And no the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band never showed....but 20 minutes into Randy telling stories and singing songs Something Wonderful happened.....

Peace in the Garden...

My Oasis....

Zen Meditation Journey.....

Soothing Walls.....

Sunday Soulfood:::Beautiful Video


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I worry we are not listening to each other...
Our Children..
Our Elders...
Our Hearts....
Our Animals.....
Our Earth....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hopi Prayer Video

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Have a sit....stay awhile...


*************************************
I will put the music on..and some Sun Tea...Red Zinger today.....and Peter Gabriel..."Sky Blue"

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Saturday Night : Requieum for a Dream....




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Imogene Cunnigham took amazing photos....and at the turn of the Century...mostly of Friends and families and she was one of the first photographers to take Nude Photos....Please see the one above of a friend at a lake on MtRanier.....it is lovely magical and mystical...Imogene believed that photos could be taken that represented Dreams.......So Lovely....

Music....Requeium for a Dream....( yes, from Lord of the Rings...but still sweeping and beautiful).

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Thursday Night Music....."Falling Softly"


I love this photo..I am sure for it's time 1917...this was considerd so naughty...but the bounding surf..the rocks..so wonderful.....you can almost feel the water...and the wind .....You can't help but fall softly back in time...

"Falling Softly".....lovely song...

Saturday, August 09, 2008

Saturday Morning Soulfood....8.09.08

Three videos about Meditation and Soothing Zen Moments....and finding some calm....
Stone Sushi and Meditation......

Zen Meditation....

Northern Lights with Native American Music...

WE THE PEOPLE....

WE THE PEOPLE...
These people are OUR people..there are US....and yet we have over 5.1 Million Homeless in this country..OUR Country. this is just so wrong.....it is Our Greatest Shame....


The Video was a collaboration with Mandt of Agitdiaries, it was a wonderful collaboration....the Photos are from all over, NY, SF, DC,LA, Portland, Seattle, and yes, Cleveland. The Song is called "TearDrop" by Massive Attack, written by Liz Frazer.

Saturday, August 02, 2008

Saturday Soulfood....


*************************************
So last night amidst Blogger Woes...and a Huge Skycracking Thunderstorm, I fell asleep on my son's floor reading Pema Chodrun by a dim flashlight...so I thought I would share some of her wisdom with you....I had wanted to write a post about Buddhism since CNN is doing a special this weekend called "Buddha's Warriors", but this post is all I have gathered for now due to circumstances well beyond my control. Last Night was definently a lesson in Patience with the Flow...So I give this post for you to ponder...and you can sit in my 3 Dollar Urban Oasis (my backyard garden) and listen to the music of Enigma while you reflect and soak in Pema Chodrun. Namaste.

"It's also helpful to realize that this very body that we have, that's sitting right here right now... with its aches and it pleasures... is exactly what we need to be fully human, fully awake, fully alive."

"An analogy for bodhichitta is the rawness of a broken heart. Sometimes this broken heart gives birth to anxiety and panic, sometimes to anger, resentment, and blame. But under the hardness of that armor there is the tenderness of genuine sadness. This is our link with all those who have ever loved. This genuine heart of sadness can teach us great compassion. It can humble us when we’re arrogant and soften us when we are unkind. It awakens us when we prefer to sleep and pierces through our indifference. This continual ache of the heart is a blessing that when accepted fully can be shared with all.”

" We work on ourselves in order to help others, but also we help others in order to work on ourselves."

" When we start out on a spiritual path we often have ideals we think we're supposed to live up to. We feel we're supposed to be better than we are in some way. But with this practice you take yourself completely as you are. Then ironically, taking in pain - breathing it in for yourself and all others in the same boat as you are - heightens your awareness of exactly where you're stuck."

" If we learn to open our hearts, anyone, including the people who drive us crazy, can be our teacher."

Music by ENIGMA...Return to Innocence...with really soothing video:


Pema Chodrun Books:
(1) The Places that Scare You : A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times (Shambhala Classics)
(2) Practicing Peace in Times of War

Mini Biography on her ( from multiple Internet sources-pieced together):
"Pema Chodron, a Tibetan Buddhist teacher, was born Deirdre Blomfield-Brown. She studied Buddhism in the French Alps and London, where she was ordained. She worked with Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche from 1974 until 1987. She was ordained in the Chinese lineage of Buddhism in 1981 in Hong Kong. Since 1984 she served as the director of Gampo Abbey in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. She has taught lectured widely and has written several books on meditation practice in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition."

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Sunday.....really beautiful songs...


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I used to go sit at this spot with my son...we would take the Ferry to Whitbey Island from Seattle and roam the beach...and pick up shells and debris...Pirate Trash we called it...there were Ship Wrecks off Whitbey so there is some interesting debris...twisted pieces of iron and odd shaped driftwood...and then we would sit on this Log and he called it The Bench...and we would eat baloney sandwiches and Lorna Doones...except he thought they were Lorna DUNES- he thought it was so cool the Beach was in her name...that is why if we went to the Beach we had to have "Beach " cookies...just like he used to like taking Animal Crackers when we would go to the Zoo......These adventures he took them so seriously...and he treated them like we were traveling to a far off world...

Back to reality.....

I Should be cleaning...that is what I DO every Sunday...BUT...instead...I am sitting here YouTubing..so I thought I would share...some Good Sunday Music...it reminds me of going to An Island....a Far Off World....



And Jim Croce....mixed with video of the Northwest...and if you want to see what the Puget Sound is really like...

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Watch and Open Your Heart.....

Sail Away....

*Sunset on Sanibel*

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As a teenager I used to sail around Sanibel Island...I am a perfect crew...I am great with knots and have an eye for detail and I have this way of knowing when the wind is switching...Intuition...listening...watching the birds and the tides, and tracking dolphins.....so people used to have me help out on their boats...a way of feeling at one with the water...It was magical...it fed my soul....

"Sail Away" David Gray

Monday, July 21, 2008

On the Horizon.....


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We are finally getting a taste of What Our Future could look like....on the Horizon....A Real Leader meeting with other Leaders...saying the WITHDRAWL word.....I don't want to dream ....or hope...but I can not help myself....

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Ripples of Hope.....


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I would love to have a KOI pond....and so would my cats...sigh...
And I know they would poke those ripples in the pond for hours....
and then I would have an empty pond....
So I will Dream of having a KOI pond....
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Some music.....for a Humid Hot Thursday....

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Wednesday Thoughts....CapeMay Memories,the rocking chair porch, Mint tea, and White Linens


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I stayed at Cape May Inn the summer I was 10, it was different back then.....in some ways...but mostly it is the same...much white wicker...and lovely wispy curtains at the window blowing in a salty breeze...and rocking chairs on the porch....It is funny now I realize that summer has alot to do with how I have decorated my house and porch...That the Crisp White Linens was so soothing....There is nothing better than sitting on the porch....rocking to make a breeze and sipping Mint Iced Tea....and the first place I ever did that was on a porch in Cape May......

I also heard Carole King Tapestry that Summer on an 8 track tape......this is one of my Favorites..


I learned that the interior of life was as rewarding as the exterior of life, and that my richest moments occurred when I was absolutely still.
-- Richard Bode (b. 1931)

If there is light in the soul, there will be beauty in the person. If there is beauty in the person, there will be harmony in the house. If there is harmony in the house, there will be order in the nation. If there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world.
-- Chinese Proverb

Monday, July 14, 2008

Tango....Summertime I watch Tango Movies....

About the Movie....Much Brit Humor...Tango...and some Romance....


Music from the Tango Lesson

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Sunsets,Chowder and Sandcastles


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So here it is ...
I have been dreaming about Beaches again...
About being at the Beach with my son when he was small.....
this is another angle of laying on Alki Beach in West Seattle, looking over at Downtown Seattle...
And yes the Sunsets are this beautiful there....
I used to take my son there...
and play for hours...and yes we would stay until sunset...
and eat Clam Chowder and sandy french fries and watch the sun set....

My son and I have been talking about those days....
"when I was little " 6-6 says.....
they seem like so long ago...
and yet like they were yesterday....
I blinked and he grew....

That he sits and remembers those moments...
and acknowledges what they meant...
and mean....
I guess tells me in some ways...
he is almost grown....

and it happened so fast.....

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Phil Collins....True Colors



Another song about time passing...Nanci Griffith" If these old walks could speak"

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Friday, July 04, 2008

4th of July......


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I used to love this day, I used to help my grandmother make Cupcakes and Cakes to celebrate this Birthday....I loved that there was a Holiday to celebrate Rebelling....Revolution...Change....For me....it honored that they sent a Letter to King George telling him his Regime of Tyranny was confronted by The People.....It saddens me that Now In Our History we cannot effectively confront the Current Tyrant or His Criminal Regime....I think the Founding Fathers would dissappointed in us and how we have not done enough to protect the Declaration or the Constitution.....( More on Independence Day is posted over at Watergate Summer).

My Son saw his first Fireworks over Lake Union,Seattle ....as a baby...many years ago...he is a teenager now...so that seems like Anicent History to him....but it as memory I will and do treasure....and I pray and hope that I have taught him enough...about What Matters.Videos below are dedicated today.....

Lake Union Seattle Fireworks.....
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Dixie Chicks singing....National Anthem....really stunning version....



Dixie Chicks and the Real Story behind their Patriotism....Trailer" Shut Up and Sing"...make you think twice about "Freedoms" that we suposedly have....



Eddie Vedder singing No More War....

Thursday, July 03, 2008

Thursday Night Music......


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“Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. Christopher Robin to Pooh”
AA Milne

“It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn't use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words like "What about lunch?"
Winnie the Pooh
( AA Milne)

“You can't stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.”
More Winnie the Pooh to Piglet.
( AA Milne)

Kenny Loggins Explains how and why he wrote the Pooh Song......


I was cleaning out a closet today and I found my old copy of Winnie The Pooh, and I was comforted by it's pages. I treasured this book, it has traveled with me all over, from being a PEDS nurse in New England to the Puget Sound, to the California Coast.....to the beach with my son. It's pages are still filled with sand, peanut butter spots, smudged fingerprints of a small child, and much wonder. I used to always put it in my Gotta-Go-Bag and take it with me when my son and I were out and about in the summer, we would sit and eat sandwiches and drink juice and marvel at the wisdom of Pooh. Late at night he will still come to my room and say he is hungry for a "little Something" and it always reminds me of Pooh. I am so glad that we shared the gentle timeless wisdom of Pooh......

More About Pooh.....



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I saw Kenny Loggins in concert, quite a few times many years ago, and I loved how Kenny told about writing this song when he was 17 in highschool (see the song in the post above). It was very much written as a coming of age song. I recently told my son this story, and then we ended up having a very interesting discussion about Pooh Bear and what the story Really meant. I was stunned when my son wisely pointed out that this simple story and wonderful book that we all great up with , actually has another point.

6-6 pointed out that actually it is a story about Differences, psychological differences.( 6-6 is a teenager and he has grown up with this book and the stories). He said that sadly he thinks Pooh might indeed have an eating disorder, that he is an emotional eater,and possibly suffers Bulimia. He said poor Piglet is probally suffering PTSD or some anxiety disorder. He said EEyore is depressed. And Tigerr has ADHD.He said that owl is probally suffering some early Alzeimers. He said Rabbit has OCD, but he fears that he enjoys it. And then there is the Christopher, he said that Christopher Robin is actually the psychologist, unknolwingly helping all deal and cope with their problems , as well as accept each other's differences. I was struck by what he said, and that it in many ways made sense.

6-6 pointed out that actually it is a story about Differences, psychological differences.( 6-6 is a teenager and he has grown up with this book and the stories). He said that sadly he thinks Pooh might indeed have an eating disorder, that he is an emotional eater,and possibly suffers Bulimia. He said poor Piglet is probally suffering PTSD or some anxiety disorder. He said EEyore is depressed. And Tigerr has ADHD.He said that owl is probally suffering some early Alzeimers. He said Rabbit has OCD, but he fears that he enjoys it. And then there is the Christopher, he said that Christopher Robin is actually the psychologist, unknolwingly helping all deal and cope with their problems , as well as accept each other's differences. I was struck by what he said, and that it in many ways made sense.

It's funny how you don't think they are learning and paying attention and you always wonder "What" your children absorb. But in my heart I am grateul to Ol'Pooh Bear.
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So Fran and Fallenmonk in the comments taught me something wonderful about Pooh, and through them I found the Tao of Pooh and the Te of Piglet, they are both companion books written to better appreciate the Virtue and the Zen of the Pooh Characters. Benjamin Hoff wrote them 10 years apart, and the Te of Piglet focuses more on the wisdom and lessons of the other characters.So to both of them I say Thank You.