Be Still

I read a blog post written by an artist & writer whose work takes her away from her home by traveling to large cities and other countries.

Recently, having completed her work in New York City, she had planned a few days of leisure in which she would visit exhibits, take in a couple of Broadway shows, eat well & shop.

On day two of her scheduled downtime, she found herself having an intense longing to return to her hotel, curl up on the bed and read. At first she attempted to talk herself out of such ridiculousness! 'I'm in New York City, for heaven's sake! I can read when I get home.' Yet her longing to be still triumphed over her mind's rants of practicality. She spent the remainder of her day in quietness while the relentless cacophony of New York City continued outside her hotel window.

We all have moments, likely more than we are even conscious of, in which our soul simply yearns for stillness. Yet we ignore the quiet invitation to take a moment of repose choosing instead to scuttle about with distracting activities. We need to take a lesson from our bovine friends. We need to lay down under the shade of a tree and ruminate.

In days of old, kids were chastised for 'wool-gathering'. In our generation, we need to do more of it.

Look who's been monkeying around!

Today was Courtney's monkey themed baby shower. Funny how we throw a shower for the mom but in actuality, it's the baby who gets all the loot!

I made mom's Sweet 'n sour meatballs, yummy spinach salad, & crunchy garlic bread. Kim brought her infamous pasta salad. We ate well.


Debbie is having trouble deciding which kind of poo is in the diaper! It looks like this might be a Reese's pile!

And Kim doesn't appear to appreciate the taste of Gerber baby food. No wonder our kidlets make faces when we first feed them those pureed green beans!


Mom's long piece of yarn proves she WAY overestimated the girth of Courtney's bubble tummy!


Courtney models her 'hooter hider' lovingly made by Jenny. Notice the pockets....

A flannel rag quilt made by yours truly. They are indestructible....

hmmm... perhaps Cooper will turn out to have goth tendencies?


Oops... A group photo taken after Shirley & Jonny had already left.



The loot. This child will be the best dressed infant this side of the Cascades!

On a card, given me by my best friend, Jonny: 'Grandbabies.... all you need to do is hold one to know how heaven feels.... Aren't you blessed.'

Little Cooper is much anticipated and already surrounded by incredible love. Thank you Courtney for carrying him with such grace, attentiveness and love. While incubating, he is absorbing all the vibes of adoration & good will. He is wanted. He is loved.

Come into our world soon, little Cooper!

Spring color

When spring arrives I long to spend every free moment working in the garden.

Digging in the dirt is therapeutic. As I turn the soil and remove weeds in my flower beds, the weight of my daily woes dissipate and my mind clears. It's a very pleasant sort of therapy.

Look at these happy pansies,

this vibrant, purple lupine,

and these girlishly, frou frou, pink crab apple blossoms (wouldn't they be beautiful in a bridal bouquet?)
I pulled this old wheelbarrow out of the junk pile, painted it red and it is now awaiting warmer weather to fill with zinnias.


This week, we seem to be stuck in a cool weather pattern with plenty of rain. I'm itching for warmer, drier weather so I can plant vegetable starts and sow flower seeds.....

Bloom where you are planted

If ever I stumbled across an example of 'bloom where you are planted' it is a young man named Seth who drives a shuttle bus for Masterpark Lot B at SeaTac airport near Seattle.

Mom and I were exhausted after a short weekend of planning & planting flower pots and beds for friends in California. After an uneventful return flight we simply wanted to get home. But first we had to take a shuttle from the airport to our parked car.

My experience with shuttle bus drivers is that they are polite yet impersonal. They willingly help with luggage and quickly pocket their tip. Seth, however, is an exception. He met us at the curb with a huge smile, apologized for nearly driving right by us and quickly loaded our suitcases on board. Once I became situated, I immediately noticed the music, Sarah McLachlan's 'In the Arms of an Angel' playing softly. Then I noticed the music was coming from his ipod, magically connected to the bus' radio/cd player. Seth, grinning broadly, asked his passengers if we liked the music. He told us he has created 16 playlists of music and has dubbed May as 'women musician' month!

He and I chatted all the way to the parking lot where he kindly announced our arrival, ask us all to step off the bus and proceeded to hand us our luggage. Leaving Mom to tip him, I walked inside to pay our bill. Mom related later how Seth carried luggage to a young family's car assisting the mom and dad who had their hands full with strollers and young children - truly going beyond his call of duty. Every act of service was done with a huge, friendly smile and boundless enthusiasm.

I point out this encounter because coincidentally I read a magazine article on the plane that explained how people who are able to combine work with their passion are so content that they rarely work a 40 hour week. By not working a 40 hour week, they may make less money than a fellow employee who is working merely to pay the bills. But because working their passion fulfills them, they are content with less and often live simple lives.

One could assume that Seth, who appears to be no older than 30, is merely marking time. Perhaps he was 'down-sized' out of a corporate job recently and driving a shuttle bus is the only work he can find. Or, could it be his passion for others has become his 'calling' and he is perfectly happy in his current position?

If I was a headhunter and stumbled across Seth, I'd say I found the mother lode.....

The Call

I cracked open the cover of the book sitting on the top of my to-be-read pile & this poem ensnared me immediately:

The Call

I have heard it all my life,
A voice calling a name I recognized as my own.

Sometimes it comes as a soft-bellied whisper.
Sometimes it holds an edge of urgency.

But always it says: Wake up, my love. You are walking asleep.
There's no safety in that!

Remember what you are, and let this knowing
take you home to the Beloved with every breath.

Hold tenderly who you are, and let a deeper knowing
color the shape of your humanness.

There is nowhere to go. What you are looking for is right here.
Open the fist clenched in wanting and see what you already
hold in your hand.

There is no waiting for something to happen,
no point in the future to get to.
All you have ever longed for is here in this moment, right now.

You are wearing yourself out with all this searching.
Come home and rest.

How much longer can you live like this?
Your hungry spirit is gaunt, your heart stumbles. All this trying.
Give it up!

Let yourself be one of the God-mad,
faithful only to the Beauty you are.

Let the Lover pull you to your feet and hold you close,
dancing even when fear urges you to sit this one out.

Remember, there is one word you are here to say with your whole being.
When it finds you, give your life to it. Don't be tight-lipped and stingy.

Spend yourself completely on the saying.
Be one word in this great love poem we are writing together.

Oriah Mountain Dreamer

Old friends are good friends

During my single days in Anchorage, AK in the late 70's & early 80's, I met some young girls who, 30 years later, I count as my dearest friends. By the mid 80's we were marrying and going our divergent ways, separated by distance, but bonded by similarities.

15 years ago, we all met in Colorado and thus began a regular habit of getting together once every couple of years. One year we flew to Karry's horse ranch in Arkansas. Another year found us here in Olympia at my home. We've been to Laurie's home in CA twice. Last year we stayed in Fauntleroy near Seattle. This year we met in warm, sunny Scottsdale, AZ.

Our time together is filled with laughter and tears. We discuss child rearing (now involving our young, adult children), our husbands, religion, business ownership, nutrition, sex, gardening, playing, aging, etc. etc. No subject is off limits. We talk, shop, eat then eat again. We stay up too late and, not able to sleep in, complain about not sleeping enough yet stay up even later the next night!

I return home exhausted but energized, rejuvenated & ready to tackle my own 'stuff' with renewed vigor & determination. These women sharpen my purpose and help deepen my character. They are truly my soul sisters and I owe each one of them gratitude for showing up and being present in my journey through life.

The Springs

The Howard's, all four of them, recently took a trip to Colorado Springs to visit Matt and Stephanie.
Having not seen Stephanie since Nick & Courtney's wedding in September of last year, we were all excited to connect once again.

It was Easter weekend so I staged an Easter egg hunt, filling plastic eggs with candy (some held money!) and hiding them in in the backyard. I tried to hide them in difficult places - after all, these were adults who were searching, not little kids!

Colorado Springs sits at 6,300 ft in elevation. It takes more than a few months to become acclimated to the elevation so we experience labored breathing upon exertion, fatigue, thirst & bloody boogers in the mornings.








A beautiful & famous destination in The Springs is Garden of the Gods. It has incredible red rock formations with hiking trails galore. We manged to huff & puff our way along one of the trails.










At the visitor center, Glynn spotted this golf cart with an attached snowplow. He thinks we need one for the mini storage facility!














We also drove up into the mountains to around 8,500 ft for a picnic lunch. Although it was a beautiful day, we weren't surprised to find snow. We hiked around the lake then quickly ate our lunch as it was breezy and we were COLD!



























This crazy cloud came out of the storm as we flew into on our way into Denver. The turbulence lasted at least 30 minutes and I had the puke bag ready! Courtney told me later that she dug her fingernails into Nick's leg while tears ran down her cheeks. I wasn't fearful. I just wanted the flight to end before I lost my lunch!


(Sorry, folks. I'm still learning how to align text with photos and this entry didn't turn out so good....)