June 2008 Archives

 I have so much to blog about, I hardly know where to get started! Instead of overwhelming you (and me) with trying to catch up chronologically, I'll just start with what's most prominently on my mind and pledge to share the other stuff soon!

At the moment, I'm sitting outside using my homemade laptop shade (pictured below) and it's working perfectly--never mind that the "real" one I ordered off eBay last week arrived today--I didn't realize it till I'd already set this up. I'll try it next time. Meanwhile, though this is "ghetto" as the person who explained online how to make one said, it could hardly be cheaper and it works like a charm.

And here are more photos from INATS:

(That's Donna giving out CDs for her friend--check out the big Hay House obelisk in the background!)

I bet you can guess who is in the photo with Donna above!

And, finally...just because I love it and want to show it off, here is a photo of my new patio rug that is made from 100% recyled plastic and is fabulous because it looks good and is a breeze to clean!

Last night, all the factors aligned for us to spontaneously have a garden party. It was an intimate affair--attended by just the 4 of us: Rick, Roly, Lilah, and me--plus the various members of the wildlife population that call our yard "home."

We gathered here, in my happy place, where you can survey much of the yard and garden(s). I took this picture leaning back in my chair, hoping to capture my view from there so as to share the party with you. I was fairly successful with the view, but of course, the view is only part of the story. The photo could not capture the wafting fragrances of the petunias and honeysuckle on the evening breeze, or the chirping of the birds on the electrical wires, discussing the day's events. It didn't depict the sounds of Roly chomping on a small, green apple, Lilah licking her marrow bone, or the subtlety of champagne bubbles popping:

It was one of those evenings that we could never have engineered the perfection of. The way things worked out was nothing short of magical. The weather was perfect (mid-70s) with Denver's characteristic low humidity; the neighbors were all elsewhere, so no human or dog voices were present to intrude on the peace, and we had no other plans or pressures to distract from the moment. I had thought to throw together a homemade pizza before going outside, so it was ready and waiting to bake when we finally got hungry enough to move inside around 8:00.

I'll close this entry the way our party ended, with the goat's milk feta, portabello mushroom, asparagus, roasted red pepper, pesto pizza we had (here, photographed on a well-used old pizza stone). This was taken before the toasted pinenuts were added. I probably don't have to tell you that it was a fitting close to an enchanted, spirit-filled evening.

  Amen.

Until this year, my now 87-year-old dad has driven from North Carolina to Michigan each summer when the time came to make the pilgrimage north to the family cottage on the big lake. That is a trip of just over 800 miles, but one he, I think, mostly enjoyed. When my mom was alive, of course, he had a co-pilot, but he has done it alone the last few years since she died. His doctors deemed him capable, and, indeed, he got there and back safely each time--driving up in early June and back in September. This year, however, without the urging of his daughters (which, I'm sure he probably sensed was soon to come), he voluntarily gave up the steering wheel and had me book a flight for him.

What a relief! Each time he'd set off on either leg of the trip, I had worried that something catastrophic might befall him. Pushing images of mangled cars out of my consciousness, I practically held my breath for the days he was on the road. With flying, I figured he was guaranteed to make it safely--incident free--with no harm to him or anyone else. Turns out, I was wrong!

Yesterday (Saturday), when I got up from my nap and hadn't yet heard from him to say he'd arrived, I called the cottage and no answer. So I called my sister Ann and she replied to my "Have you heard from Dad?" with "I was just getting ready to call you." He had fallen and broken his arm! He tripped and fell while going to the bathroom. He'd had wheelchair service because walking is difficult for him, but wanted to make a quick trip to the loo before boarding the plane in Detroit. He didn't think he was hurt too badly, so he went ahead and flew to Grand Rapids, where he was going to pick up a rental car and drive the 2 remaining hours to the cottage, but on the way, he realized something was really wrong with his arm.

He ended up going by ambulance to the hospital there, and after a cat scan and some other tests, it was determined he needs surgery to put in a pin, etc.--first scheduled for today, but rescheduled for tomorrow. So he spent Father's Day in the hospital--and as bleak as that sounds, he is always happy to be the center of attention, and he has been that for sure, so I don't feel it was a total bummer for him! He'll be there till Tuesday, and when he leaves, won't be able to be on his own. My sister Linda, who is not actually a saint, (but may be on the way to becoming one), dropped everything to fly up there and take care of him and stay with him till he is able to be on his own again in a few weeks. She and Ann weren't planning to arrive there till the end of the month, so she really had to scramble to get ready. I'm so glad and grateful she was available to go!

Anyway, I've written all this and still haven't said all I was planning to say. Like that I at first felt guilty for his fall because I thought he had fallen while trying to hoof it through the airport. I had ordered wheelchair service for him but had not called the airline right before departure to be sure he was all set to have wheels--yes, a little compulsive, but I had meant to do it and was already feeling a little bad that I hadn't. I got over that in a hurry once he said he'd indeed had the wheelchair. (And yes, I do remember speaking of the uselessness of guilt a couple of blog entries back!)

Also, I was meaning to mention that the area where where our family cottages are located got flooded very badly in a storm Thursday night but that our cottages are okay--just hard to get in and out of the resort, parts of which are under feet of water. The beaches are closed, among other areas, because of e. coli contamination. Yuck! It actually might not be such an inconvenience for my dad to be hung up in Grand Rapids for a couple of days--it will give time for the flood waters to recede a bit. NOT that I'd have chosen this particular delay tactic!

Here at home, nothing so dramatic, thank goodness! The Hamrick girls were all over to honor their dad today, and it was really great to spend time with all of them. #2 brought her pet hedgehog, who was very cute, but burrows and hides out most of the time, so we didn't see as much of her as I'd have liked. Rick spent most of the afternoon playing good-natured computer geek, fixing her (#2's, not the hedgehog's) virus-infected computer, so he got to be "Hero Dad" today. I guess even though there's a day that's designated for Father's Day, you're never guaranteed to be able to be free of a father's duties! Or, in my dad's case, to be where you thought you'd be!

I woke up this morning feeling less than spectacular (inflammed, swollen joints and a sore throat), and after awhile of trying to figure out what I needed to do and feeling overwhelmed and confused and a bit stymied about how to proceed with my day, I remembered to surrender it to Spirit, and shortly thereafter, just felt drawn outdoors.

I immediately pulled one of the patio chairs out into the middle of the yard and sat there soaking in the sunshine and allowing the strong breeze to blow away whatever was in my energy field that didn't belong there (or at least, that's what I imagined was occurring). It was a blustery day of bright cobalt blue skies--about 70 degrees--and I felt the healing properties of the sun pentrating through my skin and eyelids. I felt much better within about 30 seconds. I stayed like that for probably 5 minutes, completely free of sunscreen, sunglasses or any of the things we've been taught we HAVE to have to protect us from the sun.

Something about those "rules" about sun protection just strike me as just more on the vast list of things that we're taught to believe that are totally backward and out of alignment with the truth and with our true animal natures. I felt 100% better from just sitting in the sun. How could the sun be bad for us? There is God-Consciousness in sunlight! Oh, sure--I know the supposedly scientific arguments and the stats on skin cancers, etc., and the theories about the ozone layer, and that descendents of Nordic folks didn't evolve to have a healthy response to the sun, etc. Yes-- if I'm going to be out in the sun for hours without a solid base of a tan, sure, I'll slather on some sunscreen--I know how it feels to sleep with a sunburn--or to try to! But the human mind is so highly suggestible, do you think there's a chance that a big part of our paranoia about the sun is just that? We empower what we focus on, and in the last 30 years, we've had suntan-lotion companies, pharmaceutical companies, and their trainees, the physicians, pounding it in our brains about how dangerous the sun is, so we manifest accordingly...Okay--enough of the rant.

So, after my brief sunbath, I felt called to look around the garden and see how things were growing (before, I hadn't even felt much like moving). In the first place I looked, I spotted new sprouts of purslane! My first instinct was to pluck a sprig and pop it in my mouth. So delicious! Tender, spicy, tart, and so fresh and full of life force! Then I picked and consumed another and another. I know that purslane is super healthy, though the only specific I remembered at that moment is that it is the highest plant source of Omega 3 fatty acids. Here is a somewhat blurry shot of purslane in my garden where the mulch needs to be replaced:

 After I came back in and Googled it, my memory was refreshed that there are few, if any, things better for inflammation than Omega 3s! Indeed, I felt better after the purslane. (Most folks nowadays see purslane as just a weed to be dealt with in their gardens, but purslane has been valued for centuries for it's treasure- trove of health compounds, and it's making a resurgence in upscale restaurants as a gourmet green. Before you toss it out as a weed, do some research on it and you may change your mind!)

It just thrills me to be reminded so clearly that Spirit is always ready to guide me easily, naturally and gently to exactly what I need when I remember to allow myself to be receptive and just flow.

Yes, God-Self, I trust you!

I guess I've been delinquent again--no blog entry in more than a week! Pausing now to convince myself not to feel guilty...okay! Whew. I'm guilt-free. Guilt is not at all productive.

I'm posting photos to show you where I've been spending my spare time--at least the portion of it when I haven't been exhausted to the point of lying, catatonic, on the daybed. I did my finish-up plant shopping this week--you know--when you have things mostly together but you just need to get a few more annuals to accent things, and replace any perennials that did not make it to perform another year.

Today, I put some of the last of the plantings in the ground and in pots--only a few more to go, including something for the urn in the area behind the cafe table and chairs. I'm feeling quite pleased with how it's shaping up (The blue obelisk, which normally belongs in the fence border to the right of the pot of yellow pansies, just to the left of the rose bush with the peachy blooms, is out of place--I bought spray paint to re-coat it but haven't gotten that done yet. It's falling apart so I can only move it judiciously, so even though it offends my aesthetic to have it in the wrong spot in the photo, I don't dare move it until I have to!):
 

The garden was seriously tidied up Wednesday because Stepdaughter #4 finally came over and spent a few hours pulling weeds, etc., in service to retiring her debt from last summer when she borrowed money to go to Minnesota for an Ultimate Frisbee tournament. It hasn't always been easy to get her over here to garden, but boy, when she gets to work, she is Miss Productive! That girl can really work. Fortunately for me, she's going to need money for this summer's trip to Minnesota...

This week also brought Stepdaughter #1's college graduation. It called for getting up waaaaaaaay too early for this night owl (we had to be there by 8:45 a.m.), but I made it--and more importantly, so did she! She's the selfsame one who had the senior recital and reception week-before-last. I'm excited to see her adult life unfold--with all she has to offer the world, I am positive it will a fabulous adventure, and certainly, never boring! Here we are after the event: