The Next Chapter - Happy Friday?

While Bliss Group's copy of the Happy Book journeys from Australia to Alaska, tonight I'm struggling with finding the happy in my week. It's been a blah week here and a difficult day today. The hot water heater went on the fritz last night, work is insanely busy and stressful and my best friend's uncle passed away.

So tonight I try to gather up some pieces of happy, since they are kind of spread out and I need to collect them. The hot water heater is fixed now, and while it was frustrating to go without for awhile I am reminded of how lucky I am to have hot and cold running water, when many go without that basic luxury. Work is crazy, yes, but tonight I remind myself that I have a good job, with good pay and how lucky I am to have that when many go without work and money to pay for basic necessities. Tonight I will sit with a family in grief, and I am reminded of how precious life is and how important families and friends are.

This morning there were two purple finches in the bird feeder and I spent a few moments just watching and listening to them "trill" to each other in beautiful bird song.

What is making up the "pieces of happy" for you tonight? * o

The Next Chapter - Happy Friday?

Hello Moon, Goodnite Moon

Just playing around with the new camera and caught some photos of the moon last night and this afternoon.....

From Random

From Random

* o

Hello Moon, Goodnite Moon

The Next Chapter - Happy Friday! (on Saturday)

The Next Chapter book for the Bliss group hasn't arrived at it's first destination yet, Gina's in California, but meanwhile over on the TNC blog everyone is sharing pieces of happiness for Happy Friday!

So I'm a day late posting, but last night I was staying off the computer and sharing some quality time with the hubby while we watched a few episodes of Season One of "Bones" - which is one of the things that makes me happy, and my favorite source of "down time"!

A busy week, but I have been doing some shedding of responsibilities and tasks that it is time to let go of. This shedding is also a source of happiness as I feel lighter and more focused on the things I want to do.

And tonight, another does of happy - visiting and sharing a meal with good friends!

And that's the Happy Post for this week! * o

The Next Chapter - Happy Friday! (on Saturday)

Angels in the Snow

Some photos from my walk today - mild temps and light snow falling......

From Random

From Random

From Random

* o

Angels in the Snow

Advent

From Random

(one frosty November morning)

I haven't been blogging much. In fact, I haven't been creative at all much of late. Bit of a slump, or down cycle. It's partly, I think, part of the grieving process. This past July my father died, and I have been sitting with this for awhile. Although I am an avid fan of journaling, art journaling and collage and all sorts of "creative' stuff, for some reason this is not how I've processed my grief. Instead, in the summer I sat a lot in my gazebo and rested and daydreamed. In the fall, I walked a lot, listening to music on the iPod.

And now the days are shorter, darkness comes quickly and the weather has slowly turned winter like. No sitting outside, no long evening walks. I have been busy - busy at work, busy with my spiritual direction course. The spiritual side of my life has been fed with music, and reading and the beginnings and excitement of actually doing spiritual direction work with some wonderful people - while the creative side of my life lies dormant, waiting.

In the liturgical year it is Advent. A time of preparation, waiting, expectation. I sit, pregnant with the possibilities that the birth of a new year can bring. There will be creative times again, there will be new projects, new dreams, and new hopes. And there will be new losses, changes and struggles. And while we wait with hope and joy, there is also sadness and missing those who won't be at the Christmas table this year. Both sides of the coin, the yin and the yang.

Seasons and cycles, the turning of the wheel. I sit in the dusky evening quiet and wait for the light to return again. Advent. * o

Advent

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving weekend and snow on the ground! * o

Happy Thanksgiving

Sunny Days and other ways I'm avoiding working on stuff

"Sunny Days, oh sunny sunny days....ain't nothing better in the world I know, then lying in the sun with my radio....."

Of course, if Lighthouse were to record that tune today instead of back in the 70's it would have to be "ain't nothing better in the world I know, then lying in the sun with my iPod, or iPhone, or Blackberry....etc...." :)

It's been a glorious sunny weekend, and while I'm not naive enough to think that spring is here yet, I do loves me some sunshine. I just came back from a walk with Buffy, my new iPod (she's slim, sleek, decked out in killer purple and I'm pretty sure could save me from vampires..) and there ain't nothing better in the world I know than a walk in the sun with tunes on the iPod and a chance to reflect on my week - the good, the bad and otherwise OK.

The application is in!

I submitted my application to Spirations last week, and am now just waiting for my interview. It's helping me to work on patience, since I always want to do everything right now. I'm looking forward to this next step in the journey, even though I'm also freaking out about whether I've made the right choice or can do this. Repeat to self: "I can do this. It will be OK."

Love to hear the Robin going Tweet, Tweet, Tweet!

Twitter. I need a Twitter intervention. I'm spending so much time on there lately that Facebook has called up asked me if we're still friends. Seriously. But I've met a bunch of cool people, or "Tweeps" so it's not all bad!

I can't see clearly now...

Little floaters in my eye,
You're so annoying when you pass by...

Last month the vitreous fluid in my left eye began to detach - which is apparantly a common occurence and not too serious, but has caused several large floaters to take up residence in my eyeball and not leave. My optometrist originally said 7-10 days and things would settle down. Friday he said the good news was no retinal tears, but the floaters are around to stay. Eventually I'm supposed to get used to it. Meanwhile, if you pass by me and I'm randomly swatting non-existence things around my head just ignore me. Can't wait for blackfly season.

Because if Havi said jump off a bridge....

Jewish cookies. I heart Havi Brooks and am a big fan of the work she, and that adorable duck of hers, does. Such a big fan that she has me twirling my arms around my head in some bizarre sort of "do it wrong to get it right" yoga called Shiva Nata, regularly stretching with what she calls non-sucky yoga, and adding to my vocabulary with words like "biggification" and "stuckify". So when Havi mentioned these cookies called "hamentaschen" (or Havi's cookies in my house because I can't pronounce that) I thought, "those look delicious, I'm going to make some". I'm not even sure I like figs, but whatever I had to make them. So that is what I spent most of yesterday doing. Trying to make those damn cookies. See it looked easy enough on the blog, but I'm pretty sure that was just some trick of Havi's now, like Shiva Nata. It's the cookie form of Shiva. Anyway, as I was desparately trying to get my crumbling cookie dough to roll out, the countertop covered in flour and cookie bits, remembering finally that I don't like to make cookies, my husband smirks and asks "where did you say you got that recipe from again?" I wanted to answer that I was pretty sure it was channelled from the seventh circle of Hell or something, but I just mumbled "Havi's blog" and kept on rolling. Bless his heart, he gave me that patient "my wife and her crazy ideas" look and didn't say much more. My cookies look nothing like the ones pictured on Havi's blog (note to self: look at the picture next time). But, here's the thing, they are good. I mean really, really good. These are like the best cookies I've eaten! I'll bet the ones she makes are even better. Curse you Havi and your precocious ducky Selma! Check out Havi's blog, but for God's sake, stay away from the cookies!

Hmmm....I think it's time for a cookie break! * o

Sunny Days and other ways I'm avoiding working on stuff

Bits and Pieces of Things

Today's post will be brought to you in bullet form:

• Still suffering from "Bloggers Block". Keep feeling that I have nothing deep or meaningful to post, or that my posts are too short or whatever and so every time I sit down to blog something......I don't....hence the bullet list today :)

• Lent is looming. This, oddly enough, is a very busy time of year for us church folks. Which I always find an interesting paradox since we are supposed to give stuff up for Lent and I always end up taking on more...hhmmm...

• Spirituality and Practice has an e-course for Lent - "The Cry of the Prophet - Practicing Spirituality with Joan Chittister" - looking forward to that starting up this week and being the focus of my devotions during this time.

• If Lent is not your thing, the next few weeks can be a good time for thinking about what is going on in your life, creatively or otherwise. What are you saying "Yes" to and what are you saying "No" to? What is brewing within you? What do you long to express? Are there things you need to let go of? What wants to burst forth and rise up from you :)

• Looking forward to a chat this week with Trish Bruxvoort-Colligan from Spirations Institute. I'm being pulled more and more towards spiritual direction, especially as I find myself facilitating at retreats more often so I'm trying to find a program that will help me grow in that direction. This one looks promising, and I have my fingers crossed!

• Artella has a great deal on their new Mixed-Media Self-Portraits course - you can get the details at my creativity coaching blog here

• The College Boy is home for a week!!

And that's it - now I think I should go and play with some watercolors and try and get another assignment done! * o

Bits and Pieces of Things

I Will Begin

The inspiration for this comes from Lynn Jericho's "Inner Christmas - Twelve Holy Nights", The Need for Beginnings.

The idea is to take the list of verbs that indicate beginnings and write sentences beginning with "I will". So, for 2009:

I will begin each day with a few minutes of prayer.
I will birth new projects and new dreams.
I will start dreaming more often.
I will commence a journey of unlimited possibilities.
I will launch creatively and confidently forward.
I will emerge confident in the direction I'm heading.
I will initiate steps that take me towards a healthier me.
I will conceive of possibilities instead of set-backs.
I will generate as much positive energy as I can.
I will create as often as I can.
I will originate art that feeds me spiritually.
I will reveal more of what is in my heart.
I will unveil what is hidden from me.
I will renew my soul.

There you have it, a personal manifesto for the year.

A few people on a couple of the journaling lists I belong to were discussing resolutions and whether they make them or not, and they shared that instead of a resolution they chose a word for the year. Instead of trying to pick a word out of thin air, I went to a deck of inspirational cards I have, shuffled them and chose: "Learning Experience" (yay me, I get two words instead of one). So my intention for the year will be to try and see things as a "learning experience" and learn what I can from them! * o

I Will Begin

What I love most...

...about being off this week:

• sleeping in
• yoga and prayer in the mornings
• reading, and getting totally absorbed in good novels
• feeling the creative energy starting to resurface
• spending time with John and the boys
• not having to go out in the crappy cold if I don't want to
• catching up on emails
• resting in the transition

..so not wanting to go back to work yet....(sigh)... * o

What I love most...

We interrupt this month......

Bladder infections suck - and that's pretty much all I have to say about that. I've been laid low with one for almost two weeks now. My energy is pretty zapped, and every day is a balance between what I must and have to get done vs what I would like to do. I know there are lots of people who struggle with that every single day because of some sort of chronic illness and so I will not go on and on about how crappy I feel. Suffice it to say I've been laid low, I'm getting behind on some things, and I'm really hoping to not enter the Christmas season holding as much fatigue as I did last year. Meanwhile I'm crossing the days off the calendar and panicking that Christmas IS coming! Yikes!

I need a time machine, please - anyone have one they can spare??? * o

We interrupt this month......

This Could be a Really, Funky Mellow Post...

...because I just got back from yoga class and have had a hot, salty, lavender infused bath and I should be like all blissed out and in the zone, but mostly I'm fried and hoping I can post something that makes sense.

I'm feeling guilty because I'm kind of in a blog slump. A giant blog slump. I haven't been posting much lately. Not sure if it's because I'm too busy or just can't figure out what, if anything, to post. Mostly, I think it's just too many choices. When I have a spare moment that doesn't involve working for a living I have all these options. I can read, I can work on my courses (an art course, and a spirituality course - don't ask me why I had to take on two at the same time), I can journal, I can exercise, I can do some art.....etc, etc. The problem with choice overwhelm is that you end up choosing nothing.

I'm trying to be gentle with myself. I'm trying to take care of myself and not do overload. I really don't want to wind up the winter in the same state of exhaustion I was in last spring. It's all about balance right? Ya, most days it's balance, shmalance - right out the window. But I keep trying at it, and keep trying to mindful of what I choose to take on, and what I need to let go of. It's a process.

There are two nice things that happened to me today, that I needed to share.

One, I've been blessed today by a sprinkling of comments throughout my blog from a wonderful woman who is taking the same spirituality course as I am. She's taken the time to read my posts from the beginning, which made me realize I've been blogging for three years. Going back through some of those old posts has been a bit like finding an old journal - lots of things I had forgotten about. Thanks, S, for making my day brighter today!

Two, I had some really good comments from my art instructor about my last two assignments. Specifically, she mentioned that I should continue with pastels after the course is over because she thinks I have a "good feel for it". Cool.

If you have any suggestions for how to do balance, and not overload, I'd love to hear them.

image - Island, Jessie Lake, pastels, August 2008 * o

This Could be a Really, Funky Mellow Post...

What I could use today....

....some serious nappage......

Some days I just wish I was my cat. * o

What I could use today....

Oh, those summer nights

We've been enjoying some fairly nice weather this August, the best night being last weekend. The temps were warm, the skies clear and the moon full. The perfect summer night. Made even better by the addition of a dozen or so of some of the the most awesome teens/young adults I know who hung out around our fire for a bit.

Oh summer nights......soon to be fall. I'm keenly aware of the passing of time and summer coming to a close. One more week and College Boy will be heading back to school. The days even now are starting to get shorter.

If I had seen the meteor shower a couple of weeks ago, I would have wished on the shooting stars for a longer summer. It seemed so long in coming and so quickly flown by. But nature knows these things are not to be. The seasons must change, the wheel must turn.

Do I sound a bit blue? Ya, I always hate the end of summer. * o

Oh, those summer nights

Something Wonderful

Last week I started an experiment. It came about from something I read (and don't ask me where I read it because I can't remember if it was in a book, a magazine or on someone's blog - I read too much and remember too little). Anyway, the gist of what I read was that when you wake up in the morning start your day off thinking something wonderful is going to happen today, instead of thinking about all the ick things you have to do that you don't want to do. Then be open to receive whatever wonderful thing comes your way. So, I thought I'd give it a shot. I start the morning off saying to myself "something wonderful is going to happen today." Amazing what a shift in perception that gives you.

You see, for every day that I have said that, something wonderful has happened. Now, these are not big miraculous happenings. And most of them would have occurred whether I said, "something wonderful is going to happen today" or not. (I'm pretty sure my husband was going to give me flowers for our anniversary anyway, and that package in the mail was going to arrive one day....) Nor am I so superstitious as to believe that if I don't say "something wonderful is going to happen today" all sorts of weird and awful things will happen. Life is full of good and bad moments and I'm pretty sure there are going to be bad days. Nope, the shift has come in my attitude to those "something wonderfuls". By opening myself to the possibility of receiving them, I become AWARE of them. They pop into my day, and I think "hello, something wonderful" and I'm happy. It's all in what you dwell on isn't it? Good moments or bad moments? Something wonderfuls or something awfuls? I'm kind of liking this experiment, this opening up to the little, good things that make up my life.

Join me? Something wonderful is going to happen today.......I guarantee it.

* o

Something Wonderful