Spring

Happy First Day of Spring

Let them eat cake

Today I took a class, "One Great Cake" and this is my first 3-layer cake.

The cakes were already prepared so we cut the cakes in half to make our layers, put in two layers of filling, frosted & decorated the whole outside with butter cream. It was a fun & artistic experience for me! I am pleased with my first cake. I didn't realize what was involved in the world of frosting & decorating. It's a skill that requires lots of practice. The hardest part was frosting the whole outside and smoothing it with the tools and techniques I learned. I have a whole new appreciation for those flawless smooth cakes!

It was fun and this instructor teaches all sorts of classes (www.bakingarts.net). I'll check his class schedule and attempt another lesson soon!

email poetry

Beautiful day here

Can't wait for the

weekend to begin

Boboli with salad and French wine

await us tonight

I can't wait to hug George

again

Maybe we will take a walk

in the park with the added daylight

hours in the evening

This weekend

holds an appointment at the salon

and the anticipation of a cake class on Sunday afternoon.

The rest of the open spaces

will be played by ear

outdoors

walking

holding hands.

Chores will sneak their way in

they always do

but I don't mind

I want to be a better

listener

quiet and attentive like the butterfly

considering the flower above.

Haiku

The sun warms my back
Fresh air, blue skies, clear my mind
The grass cools my toes

Why I keep getting up in the Morning:

Why I keep getting up in the Morning:

A fresh start
God still has a plan for my life
To spend another day with George
Harvest grain pancakes
walks in Golden Gate Park
the Sunday paper
hocus focus
hope
change
to improve
make a difference somehow
homemade pizza and red wine
to do some writing
find a new career direction
to be warmed by the sunshine
books that inspire
ginger tea
explore more of Europe
visit South America
talk with or email friends & family
Farmer’s market
cherry blossoms
fall leaves
to listen to raindrops tapping on my window
French toast topped with mango, blueberries & banana
To sculpt my body with exercise
To notice something beautiful

Email Poetry

At noon on Monday
a break in the rain
I put on my beige coat with the hood
And walked the slick downtown streets of San Francisco
To the bookstore.
endless possibility
I suppose the library can be too
But I prefer the bookstores.
new books with pristine pages
Enticing our imaginations
other cities, distant countries, or worlds
helping us navigate our own world
Adventures, experiences, inspiration, learning,
Whatever you fancy at the time.

I discovered a new author,
Katherine Lanpher
drawn to the title of her book
“Leap Days, Chronicles of a Midlife Move”.
I browsed the magazines
Paying attention to what I'm drawn to
As discussed with good friend Mira Sunday
finding the passion
in our writing
I looked at yoga journal, spirituality & health, body & soul,
Writers Digest, National Geographic Traveler,
And The Sun recommended by Mira.
I purchased one book called “Not Buying It, My year without Shopping”
By Judith Levine, which is a memoir
based on one year sans consumerism.
Hence my interest is in memoirs
with a purpose and focus.
Off the top of my head
Marlene Schiwy “Simple Days, A Journal on What Really Matters”, Elizabeth Gilbert “Eat, Pray, Love”, Marlena De Blasi “A Thousand days in Venice”, Sue Monk Kidd “When the Heart Waits, Spiritual Direction for Life's Sacred Questions”.
Oh, and Laura Fraser's memoir written in second person,
“An Italian Affair”.
These stories taking place over a year
where they Question
and explore an area of life.
A food or culinary memoir would be interesting too.
I love reading about these sorts of experiences
and transformations.

When my hour was up,
I braved wind and rain
back to work,
my mind still in a world
eloquent writings
bringing to life the East Coast or
Italian piazza's or ashrams in India,
where all you need is a purpose and a pen.
I wondered if I could find
or create such a story from my life

Practice Practice Practice

Yesterday I had a visit with a good friend over tea. We set some specific writing goals to work on during the Lent season. I am also currently taking an online writing course through writers dot com. The instructor is great and the focus is on consistent writing practice. The challenge for me is still to apply ‘chair glue’ and get the writing down, work on every practice assignment instead of just THINKING about writing. That may sound strange but it’s the truth. It comes down to the action once again. So I’m just thinking out loud on the page and reminding myself to stick with the practice every day because that is the only way my writing will improve. PRACTICE. PRACTICE. PRACTICE.

On a different note, I came across this book “Not Buying It, My Year without Shopping” by Judith Levine. She and her partner Paul decide to forego consumerism for a year. I love this idea because I find myself trying not to accumulate too much. I actually wrote about this back in January about clearing stuff out. But this concept deals with the flipside, not buying more non-essentials! This book chronicles her experiences for one whole year based on that decision.

February 22

Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday I love you
Happy Birthday to you.

Rainbow

We left Bernardus Monday afternoon and hit quite a bit of rain on the drive home. Somewhere before Half Moon Bay the sky was very dark gray and this large arch of rainbow appeared. It was beautiful, this picture does not do it justice. Aside from the rainbow being God's promise to never flood the earth again, it is such a miracle to see them. I sense God's presence in his beautiful, visible promise and it brings joy to my heart.

Bernardus

Last weekend we went to Bernardus Lodge in Carmel Valley. It's about 2 hours south of San Francisco. We enjoyed a beautiful room equipped with a fireplace,that was probably the size of our whole apartment! An amazing dinner in the Harvest Room, a luxurious bath tub, a morning walk, coffee in the lodge/lobby, a yummy breakfast in our room and a deep tissue massage to top it off.

chopped

Remember this haircut scene in "Roman Holiday"?

Inside the hair salon Ann sits on one of the seats in front of
the large mirror, holding up her long hair as the hairdresser
(Mario Delani) fastens the cover around her.

MARIO DELANI [speaking rather hesitant English] What a wonderful
er, hair you have. [He asks her something in Italian].

ANN. Just cut, thank you.

MARIO DELANI. Just cut? [Takes the scissors from his hair] Well
then, cut, er, so? [he holds the hair at a certain length].

ANN. Higher.

MARIO DELANI. Higher? [He holds the hair further up] Here?

ANN. More.

MARIO DELANI. Here?

ANN. Even more.

MARIO DELANI [impatiently] Where?

ANN [she holds her hair at the shoulders] There.

MARIO DELANI. There. [Snapping his scissors nervously] Are you
sure, Miss?

ANN [emphatically] I'm quite sure, thank you.

MARIO DELANI [he turns he round in the chair, taking her hair in
his hand] All off?

ANN. All off. (MARIO DELANI [uncomfortable as he
starts cutting off her long hair] Off.) Ann sits in the salon
still, her hair covering her face.

MARIO DELANI [pulling apart her hair to see her] Are you sure?

ANN [impatiently] Yes.

MARIO DELANI [dropping her hair back over her face] Yes. [As he
cuts her locks off, working his way round] Off! off; off...[wipes
his forehead with his arm]. Back in the salon, the
hairdresser cuts of the last lock of her hair.

MARIO DELANI. Off! [He stands to the side of her as they both
study the end result as Ann moves her head slightly from side to
side. She looks down at something but, engrossed in her, the
hairdresser jerks her head back to the centre to get a better
view].

ARIO DELANI. You musician, maybe? You artist, aha? Painter...? I
know: you model! [She smiles, flattered] Model, hah?

ANN. Thank you.

MARIO DELANI [says some Italian] Finito. It's perfect.

ANN. Oh.

MARIO DELANI [as the hairdresser turns her round from side to
side, looking in the mirror] Y-y-you be nice without long hair.
Now, it's cool, hmm? Cool?

ANN [turning her head to the side, playing with the ends] Yes,
it's, it's just what I wanted.

(This is from the actual script of Roman Holiday I found online.)

Well that was a little how I felt yesterday! It got a new, short haircut! About three or four inches gone. It was time for a change and I am happy with it.

Replenish the Soul

I have plenty of my own words I need to write but those will have to be on another posting, because I was moved by this part I read in "When the Heart Waits" by Sue Monk Kidd today:

"The soul craves experiences that offer it the rich depths of God. Silence, solitude, holy leisure, simplicity, prayer, journaling, the Eucharist, rituals that touch the space of the Mystery, symbols and images, the Bible, laughter, delight in the divine Presence, deep encounters with creation, and the merciful coming together of human hearts. All these feed the soul, producing energy for living the transformed life.

When I fail to feed my soul, I soon notice that I have less strength for living authentically. At times my energy becomes depleted. Weakened, I'm more apt to revert to old patterns. That's when I need to return to the deeper pockets and replenish my soul. There's truth in Psalm 23: allowing oneself to be led by still waters really does restore the soul."

JANUARY 22

Dear Michael Hutchence,

I remember when I first heard “The One Thing” and “Don’t Change’ on the airwaves in the early 80’s. INXS became my favorite band. The music, the lyrics, your charisma, the Australian accents, just everything appealed to me! I feel fortunate to have seen you in concert at least eight times circa 1982-1997.

It’s still hard to believe that you died nine years ago. When I hear your voice or see you singing on video, I can hardly fathom that you tragically left this world on 11/22/97. After a number of years, I’m glad the band decided to continue. They deserve to pursue and share their gifts and passion, being such talented musicians. I admit that I’m not all that fond of their new singer, J.D. Fortune. I choose to remain in the era of the band with your vocals. I still enjoy all of your many, many songs and continue to find inspiration in your music.

I found a number of videos, live performances and interviews of you on You Tube! You indeed live on. I know there are so many other fans out there and you touched many lives in your all-too-brief life. Happy Birthday on what would have been your 47th year.

Quote

"We are at our very best, and we are happiest, when we are fully engaged in work we enjoy on the journey toward the goal we've established for ourselves. It gives meaning to our time off and comfort to our sleep. It makes everything else in life so wonderful, so worthwhile" - Earl Nightingale

More lovely Audrey

Inspiring Audrey

There is a whole You Tube universe out there! This is Audrey Hepburn reading from the Diary of Anne Frank.

Go Patriots!

Good game, Tom Brady, Serra boy!

Arctic Cold

It's really cold here!! They say were have a freeze warning in effect tonight thru Saturday morning. Got to bundle up!

Justin

Happy belated birthday cute nephew. Lots of love and good wishes for a wonderful 11th year!

2 things

I saw 2 good ideas on other blogs this week:

1) Stop buying non-essential things for a specified time (Jan. 8 posting "Stop Buying Crap") http://www.crazyauntpurl.com/

2) Save money to travel (Jan. 10 posting "Travel as a Tool for Spiritual Growth") http://www.travelingforever.com/blogs/