Savoring some flavorful moments

It looks like El Jeffe is not going to get the transfer I had hoped for. The company isn't moving in that direction. And so we remain in port itching for change yet entirely enjoying the life at hand. Eventually it will be time to jump.. when I don't know. Where remains a mystery. But when its right.. well then.. it will be right. Until then .. Wonder-lust. Tis the season for it.  Awe.. Spring!

So Anyway,

I've been playing with a new deck. A deck whose back is covered in what I could easily call stars.   Its a deck which speaks the language of music. Fun little things.  They go deep and there is little ambiguity in deciphering them..  D. asks, "Shall I buy an income property at the lake?" The cards describe her motivations clearly and tell why she is hesitant then end with "Ritardando" or stop. So far the responses have been pretty clear and concise. 

It is a perfectly quiet peaceful moment. Greg is out of town tonight (Boston to Florida and back this round), I happily wait for his return. The kids are down.  The house is clean.. well .. pretty darn close to being clean and I am well on my way to being prepared for a little Spring get together this weekend... I feel on rather on top of things.. not everything.. but most things. I am relaxed and energized from a little swim today with my good neighbor friend Kathleen and the kids (I might have more to say about this later but must remain mum for the moment). Im relaxed and energized from our daytrip to San Jose yesterday.. Do you know the way to San Jose?.. Finally a musical interlude you can appreciate, mom!! Anyway I digress and if I continue in this vein I will spend the night writing those stories and missing the moment at hand.  A moment which is blissful and perfect for tuning into the sound of our future and seeing what is in the stars.

 

Intermission

 

I did the reading a few days ago. Yes it has been that long. After I crashed and since I have been running pretty steady.... guest preparation, school.. (this is Math time today. We were working on solving story problems) 

fThen there was driving, playing single parent for the week. collecting eggs from hidden nests, getting some plants in the aquaponics bed,  doing some filing and data entry for a friend and ...so on. All the while, I've been meaning to get back to the keyboard to dissect the cards I pulled and tell about the adventures of last weekend. Bah.. But here now Wednesday night I finally get a chance and I'm going to jump in.. not with those stories just yet.. but with some fresh memories. 

Willow came home and began puking. She'd been fighting it all day. I wonder if it was because she started sex ed. today. It is a topic which she is not particularly enthused about. Being the good mother that I am, and in order to prepare her for what lay in store, on the drive to the bus this morning, I began rattling off the proper terms for the reproductive parts for both men and women. She practically leapt from the car before I had completely stopped to let her out. :P Funny Story.. not the puking part anyway. And I am pretty sure that the cause is actually more biological than psychological.  Heck Im sick too but with the sniffles. I watched this bug course through Greg so I know it will get worse tomorrow and Friday I will be pretty burnt but I should be back on top by Saturday. I hope the same can be said for Willow.  Connor is not showing any signs yet. Wait and see.. Probably just as we get to play rehearsals Tuesday. Knock on Wood. 

In other car related conversational type stories.. Today on the ride home from school, Connor asked, "Mom, can I ask you a question? Its kind of weird... Well never mind" I told him that there was nothing he could not ask me and he jumped in without much further hesitation. He then began to ask me why people cheat on each other when they could just be honest with each other. He is still processing Grandma's divorce and striving to understand things. Hes starting to move away from wanting to take serious revenge .. Needless to say, he took the whole thing rather to heart.. and now he is struggling to find ways that such destruction and broken heartedness can be averted.  I told him that I believed it was possible to love more than one person at once, and I asked him to think about how many he holds in his heart now. I said that if a person faced a situation where they wanted to be in a relationship with more than one person than  ideally it is the best to be truthful. He agreed. But I then told him that that approach is really hard for a great many people. They fear that they will loose the people they have to tell. And that fear is real. If Grandpa had have come to Grandma from the start, it would have spelled the end right away for them. Anyway, I told him that being honest is a wonderful (yet sometimes painful) trait and that I was proud of what an honest young man he was. Wouldn't it be an amazing world if he were the rule and not the exception?

So yep. there you go a few brief reflections of the good times had today.

 I guess now I can get back to the stories I mentioned at the start. Last Saturday the kids and I left Greg at home sick and went into the City. It was out last hockey game we are going to this season but Greg was sick and catching a flight out to Boston the next day. He needed to mend and spend the day in bed asleep. Good thing too. How else was he going to be able to enjoy some very authentic St. Patty's Day Festivities in Boston which sounded like a blast.. at least it did from the drunken, gooey, sentimental murmurs coming through the phone at midnight.

Anyway, last weekend.. Hockey.. Blackhawks swept across the frozen shark infested waters with  skill and won 6-2. 

I donned Blackhawks colors but not in the typical jersey/hat sort of way ) You see.. It was also super pi day. As in math pi. 3.14.15 .. The date is the start of the number pi. And this year it went to 4 decimal points. Weird geeky math fun. Anyway, I had arranged a visit with Nell and David afterwards and it was super hot ..85 or so.. Maybe you don't think that is to hot but when 55 to 60 is your daily year round norm.. 85 is like an oven. Given all these factors I felt it was a great day to break in a new sun dress in team colors (Plus being pi day ..  I was cherry!) After the game ended, we walked to Bijan Cafe and Bakery on Market street. This rather nicely captures how happy they were at the mile long journey from the stadium to the restaurant. 

But the selection of fine European deserts was fantastic and so very hard to choose from and I think helped make up for the misery of crowds, smokers, heat and exercise that I put them through to get there. The deli part was not near as fancy but provided a decent dinner. The decor featured some really interesting cake plates which Nell and I marveled at while the kids played magic tricks on me and stole my wallet and phone from right under my nose. I suppose my attention was wrapped up in the excellent conversation. We caught up with some of the details of life and talked about new scientific discoveries (of one sort or another) and Aquaponics. Which reminds me to post Connors school presentation at the end of this. Willow had a presentation at school this week as well. She raided my closet and went to school yesterday looking like this. She is a beauty!

:

Back in San Jose, after our fill up, Nell and David walked us back to our car. Dave is quite the storyteller and history buff. He regaled us with tales of turn of the century bank robbers and pointed out the architectural details of churches while Nell darted here and there looking at birds and pointing out the fleeting details of the present moment. Wonderful to wander with them. We stopped to check out a cool sculpture in route  

However, just when she thought I wasn't looking.. Nell tried to eat the cheesecake I was taking home to Greg! 

Fortunately Dave stopped her! 

It was a wonderful but all to brief visit. Maybe we will get in a longer visit soon. Attempts will be made! 

Sunday Greg caught his flight.. I said earlier that he was going to be going to Boston then Florida but he ended up cutting his trip short so that he could be home with us this weekend. 

Now as to that reading.. I have not yet analyzed it but I did get a quick impression which just left more questions. I guess our next destination is going to remain a mystery for the time being. 

“It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want—oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!” 

― Mark Twain

 

Here is the link to Connor Aquaponics presentation. Enjoy! Much Love!

 

 

Call of Duty

Well after my last post about our trip, I heard from mom. She called and the first words from her  were.. "Now... Vicci... I need you to listen to me. Are you listening? I need you to really listen and pay attention. Do you understand?  What I am about to tell you is important. Do you hear me? Listen to what I have to say and then you have to do it. Promise me you will do it?" Amid my muttering of yeses and uh huhs I began mentally scrambling for anyway out of this conversation. When mom starts out like that it can't be good. The scolding is just about to start. Or so I thought. Turns out she wasn't out to scold as much as to encourage me towards creating my legacy and in turn make her proud.The jist boiled down to "Write damn it! Write!"

My blog is my sketchbook... I practice...  Its something in this crazy busy world.  But She wants more. She wants me to pull out a novel. Not just any novel but "The Great American Novel."
But time?  I need time to work on a masterpiece!

(Henry.. Sexy Bastard.. even now. even old.)

 Fine. Fine.  So I dug out my drafts, doodles and swirls and started playing with the  pieces. I told her I would see what I could do.

Meanwhile, in a parallel universe, where my masterpieces are my children.. life has kept me busy with the driving and the chaperoning. There were two field trips.  One was to the waste water recycling plant.

Here you could not chew gum because the germs in the air would stick to it and grow. Kind of a gross job.. but necessary.

The other trip was to a youth tech coop. Greg managed to get in on that trip by taking a rare day off before shipping to the eastern shore for the week.

It was an interesting place. Large corporations donate large sums so that the youth can have access to technology and develop tech skills. The facilities include a professional music production studio, Professional camera and lighting set ups, 3d printers, computers, wifi and programs galore and they are even getting a drone.  Anyway, nifty.

School is going well. We have been building an aquaponics system for science. Here is his paper..

So I have been busy with the schooling and with the general chores and duties of motherhood. We have been working in regular visits to the chiropractor and swim time at the Y. Good things both. I have also gotten in a few minutes of nature worship. Con and I got done with an appointment early and had a few minutes to spare so I got my toes wet. I have an itch to fully submerge myself in those waters!

1. 

 One weekend I slipped away to Mt. Madonna to visit with some friends. It was raining and the visit was short lived but the scenery was beautiful.

 

 And this is just a very interesting picture from the car while Greg was driving us to dinner in Moss Landing. I see a seraph (or a griffon? or a sphinx?) lounging on the clouds.

Time for me to duck back into my little life. I have sent the family to the movies so I could write this and then practice my bass. My teacher has me learning scales. Much to his frustration, I am struggling to find the time to give it much attention. 

Coming up.. A hockey game, dinner/pie with Nell, another work trip, a celebrate spring party, And then both kids are into rehersals for Wonderland. 4 days a week 3 to 4 hours at a time. Whew.. 

A Journey of A Thousand Stars

Rafting down the river of life.. my typical ,day in/day out, course is quite peaceful and meandering. It is the kind of ride that one can easily get lost in observation..

How the dragonflies dart; 

How the sun dapples the waters through lush canopies of vegetation; 

How the spray bounces off rocks and makes happy little rainbows;

How the minnows flit and flash while the trouts glide seamlessly; 

How the three faces that continuously fill my sight glow and smile; 

How their laughter harmonizes with the river song.   

This life.. Its a lovely, drowsy kind of passage. It is "Slow the Go" if you know what I mean. Im looking mostly at Heather right there. To clarify.. I have always embraced the creed "Slow and steady wins the race."

Sometimes, however (like this past weekend) my waters merge with another's and my course takes an abrupt turn or gains momentum. Life expands and the senses are engaged.. challenged even,  New sights and sounds abound and whiz past at accelerated speeds.   This time, however, I am comfortably sitting upon a speedboat. I tied the chub tub up at the fork and climbed aboard a new vessel.  Heather stood confident at the helm. She knows those waters well. I  was along for the ride... drinking it all in... by the teacup... Or the wine glass.

It was warm and a tad muggy as the kids and I pulled into Burbank. It was much nicer weather than we would have had staying home and facing the "Atmospheric River" that bombarded the region with whipping winds and driving rains. Greg, all the while, was in Vermont enduring the ice and cold while meeting other students in his Masters Program during a week intensive course. 

Anyway, we were welcomed to the land of production studios and stars with warm-hearted hospitality as Heather and her son, Hunter, opened their home to us. After settling in and sharing some tea and Pad Thai we were off to our first adventure.. a sound bath at a yoga studio L.A. A sound bath is essentially a meditation session where someone plays gongs and singing bowls while you lie comfortably and listen. The music swirls around you and through you. In one ear, out the other. Rising and falling like the tides. All one needs to do during a sound bath is let the music wash over. The premise of this practice is that the tones and modulation of the sound work as a healing instrument by interacting with our own vibration and energetic frequencies and bring them into tune. (Here is a sample). The results were varied for our group. Connor fell asleep, Willow's experience was rather like fighting demons and she came out very seasick (She recovered quickly enough), I simply floated on the sound. Heather drifted into a deep trance and Hunter got wired. After that we returned home as Heather pointed out museums and the stadium from the freeway. A late night of wine, muffin making and merriment commenced. 

The next day we packed up some snackage and headed to the L.A. convention for the Conscious Life Expo. Three floors of Healers/Energy Workers, Psychics, Astrologers, venders of related sorts and tons of workshops.  We started out by attending the "Stargate Experience." This was a guided meditation in a room with a huge metal pyramid sculptury thing whose design was based on a sacred geometric pattern. The guided meditation was lead by a pair of channelers. Connor swayed himself in to a quick slumber, Willow was rather doubtful about the validity of the journey. She thought it farcical the moment the man with the microphones voice changed and Althazar's presence was heard. He sounded kind of Scottish actually.  I'm not sure how Heather was effected, I can tell you that despite a crumb of doubt, I was gently yet profoundly effected by the experience.  Through the process we were guided progressively out to various dimensions (All the way to the 16th or so). We stopped along the way and were introduced to the energy of the angels,  and other celestial beings. And as we traveled I could feel these very slight and illusive changes to the energy around us. It was like passing through a fine foggy mist that was not water. At every change of dimension this seemed to occur. I first felt the energy shift around my calves and my shins and once recognized it would then engulf me. And at one point I got a distinct mental image. A nightscape of pyramids like those in Egypt but these were not on Earth. I don't typically envision things this way so it was unexpected but did not feel startling. Then we were talked down.  During the process, something else unusual happened. Let me preface this with a little bit of background. I am often slightly weepy and require a regular dapping at the corner of my eye.  These are silent unobtrusive tears and they are not problematic.. actually they are a healthy release for me. They happen when my heart strings are played... And honestly.. when aren't my hearstrings being played? My tears are as  necessary to me as gentle rain is in Spring. Anyway..  during this experience, sheets of water unexpectedly fell down my cheeks. Literally.. SHEETS! So much release you would expect sobs or sorrow but no. This overflow of tears was rooted in a profound sense of peace.It was an intense magnification of the same feeling I get when I step into a Catholic Cathedral, a country church, a Buddhist monastery, a Sikh Ashram, A Quaker meditation, A drum circle. Really any place where people gather in spirit. But that sense is also there when I step into: The forest, A stream, The Ocean, A Garden. When I behold sunrise and sunset, a flower, a bird, When I hear certain sounds, words, lyrics. When I stop to feel the wind.

After that we traveled down the corridor to another presentation. This one was hosted by Susan Miller. She is a world renowned Astrologer and she was discussing 2015 and all the potential it holds. It was interesting.  Turns out Libras need to have more fun. They have been very stuck in work mode for the last 5 years and this year that pattern will break up some and life will be more playful. She instructed Libras to embrace and really use social media. There was a Q and A session afterwards and Heather (a fellow libra although she and I are as opposite as night and day in so many ways!) was one of the few lucky participants that got to take the mike. This is what Susan had to say about Heathers love life which was weighing heavily on her mind the whole weekend.

 After that and a recuperative lunch break we returned to the lecture halls to catch the discussion on Starwater given by my scientist crush, Ben Davidson. Heather made me pose with him when she saw me trying to take a picture stealthily through my fingers.

 I am glad she gave me a push. But then she has always been good at getting me out into the world. Which is one of the many things that I adore about her. Anyway, we sat in the front row, Connor fell dead asleep. (I think he must be growing). Ben's lecture spoke to the fact that water is everywhere in the universe. As such, aliens are unlikely to come here seeking to steal it from us. There was more to it but as Heather and Willow found out, Sun science has is own language and if you haven't brushed up on it you can get a little lost. I thought it was great though. 

Then we wandered the floors and checked out venders. We met one of Heather's spiritual mentors, Helaine, whose grandson looked incredibly like Con. We tried samples, filled out forms and gabbed with salespeople. Wait.. the gabbing was mostly Heather. That girl can talk! But shes fun to listen to! Anyway, I ended up picking up a little something to take home called the Muzoracle. I still need to look at it a little more before commenting much here but so far I have found it fascinating. 

After that  we got a night driving tour of various L.A. hot spots like Hollywood Blvd. and "Urban Lights" Art exhibit on Wilshire. Fun Fun Fun.

  A collection of the other trip pics I took can be seen here.  The next day we enjoyed tea and muffins and set off for home, I can't thank Heather and Hunter enough for their open home and fine company. It was a great trip. 

About Getting in the saddle and falling off .. again and again.. but laughing about it none the less.

This Morning...

Comfortably lounging in bed. Hot tea sits on the nightstand. Light bathes the floor from the bay view. Greg curled up asleep beside me. The glorious rapture of birds fills my ear. Connor stirs in the office sharpening his pencil which has dulled due to drawing. Willow not yet awake. How beautiful it all is: This moment: This life....  Ass pains and all. It's pretty dang wonderful and I am thoroughly enjoying it. 

I should be getting up. It's eight thirty. I've already slept in 3 hours. But really... no. Not today. Breakfast will be brunch and I will sit here longer enjoying this moment doing what I love to do.... casting my reflection.... Paint my life in words.  If it was an actual painting/picture/video, this moment might look like mom looking at me in a mirror while I get ready for the  day and give her the recent rundown of "historical highlight's" and "to be continued's." (As I come back to edit and post this at the end of the day, I  realize that this analogy of mirror speaking is an echo. My best conversations with Mom have always been while I watching her paint her face. Interesting. Appropriate. And filled with Love... And then we were off... Living it! Until our next chat time.) 

So anyway, Ass pain.. 

I'm headed back to urgent care today. The third time this month. The first time was for that lump behind my knee.  So here is the deal with that.. When splash began to decline so did our walking. This was back in September. We limped along there at the end and when he died I stopped walking but started going to the chiropractor and trying to add support that way. It was helpful getting me through the season of play practices and such. A busy time. As a result I added some weight. Like 20 pounds. After mom headed home I got up and got on the treadmill and started to take care of business.  But my joints rebelled... heck my whole body rebelled. The holidays were downright lazy as I gave into the need for major recuperation. But I took advantage of the reprieve and got a better handle on menu planning and paying better attention to what I put in front of us. Anyway, soon it was time to get on the move again when school started back up but I was ready for it.. as always. And I got back on the treadmill. The time before I had been pushing myself. This time I was going to take it very very slow. Then I developed the golf ball sized lump behind my knee on my calf. Ultimately the bump is known as a Bakers Cyst. It is excess fluid from my knee knee joints spilling into a bursa sack. It is not painful but my knees are a bit achey. This all speaks to an arthritic nature. No surprise given my heredity and the many years wrestling with fibromyalgia. 

So I decided to start swimming as the best mode of overall therapy and I got us  memberships at the Y.... A membership that extends to five different local city's.  Meaning it can work with my life on the road much better than anything else. I can get in when I drop Connor at school and I can get in when I drop them off at play practice and we can all go together when it works out.. You know.. good stuff.  So Wed I signed us up and I immediately jumped into the pool and tread water for 40 minutes. It felt great and my body was happy with the work. But I developed swimmers ear that night and ended up at Urgent care first thing in the morning. I got a shot of tordal in the tush and a script for amoxicillin. The shot was great. Tordal is an anti-inflammatory  NAISD and the 12 hours it lasted my body felt pretty good all over for a change. The antibiotic has not been effective. I hear only the blood pumping through my veins in that ear. It's not opening up and the side of my face is swollen up slightly. I can't chew anything.  3 ibuprofen every 3.5 hours seems to keep the worst at bay but who wants to take that much?  I need to go back in today.  Another shot will help me enjoy the game tonight.

In Other News, Connor had his twelfth birthday two weekends ago. It was good fun. That boy is growing up. He has a science project to work on for school. I'm going to have him and Greg build an aquaponics system together. Ill get around to posting January highlight pics soon. 

Speaking of projects.. this year's v-day mix... It does not seem to be in the works. It's either postponed or not going to happen this year. Im not sure. I just can't seem to yet grasp what I want to achieve with it.  But I have been recently inspired to...well... approach to some of my old styles of work in a new way. So my creative wheels are finally beginning to turn a bit more. Just in a different direction then I usually take this time of year. 

Our house has also started an Art/craft club with the neighbors. Our first get together was last weekend. It was fun. There was crotchet, the re-purposing of some canvas, a little doodling, scrapbooking. We have such a nice little community here. Greg made bloody Mary's. It's been years since the last one I had... Tasty.

Greg was supposed to be back east this past week. His meeting was cancelled after I had a ready dropped him off at 4 am monday in San Jose. But luckily before he caught the first flight out. His lovely Assistant Jae made sure he made it back from the airport. She is a doll.

Willow.. she is doing well in all regards. Its fun watching her grow up. Shes got good balance and dramatic flare. This week she had to dress like a japanese pop culture icon to deliver a presentation in Japanese. It meant getting up at 4 to get into costume and She spent a couple evenings on campus prepping. She is something else and getting it down.  

Well my attention is now drawn back to this glorious moment. returning to the present and OUCH! It's really time for me to get going. A great big wonderful day awaits! And so does a syringe to the butt!

Much love! 

P.S. 

At 10, I drove into Salinas for the Urgent Care but for some undisclosed reason it was closed so I drove into Monterey. It was determined that I had an Swimmers Ear and I was ordered some new meds. I wasn't given another Tordal shot. :( By the time I picked up the prescription, it was 3:00 and I was exhausted. I curled in bed and made the decision to stay home tonight and not go to the Blackhawks away game against the Sharks. You know I gotz to be hurting to make that call! And with the sunset the rest of the crew disappeared into the evening without me. I am however keeping abreast of things as they are texting me updates. :)  And .. Well the Lisa Gerrard playlist I have been listening to as I edited this mornings ramblings has just finished its last note, and alas my body needs its meds and rest so.. lights out and.. Sleep

A little meander down the river

Tomorrow is Cons Birthday. 12, Holy Cow! Time... so much but not really. He sits across the table from me writing in his own journal. At least he has stopped resisting this little exercise of daily journaling and has accepted it is part of "School" work. Anyway.. that kid.  He is kind and tender hearted. He doesn't understand the world.. and well why should he?.. Life is crazy and contradictory and it doesn't follow a set schedule very well. There are unexpected hiccups (Like yesterday.. but I will get to that in a minute) that need navigating.. I look at him and smile and think "Be like water my ... Son .. be like water."

Speaking of water, I am currently reading "The Hidden Messages in Water." I had already heard about Masaru Emoto's research but only in passing. Quite interesting. Got a bit of reading done yesterday. .. At the hospital.. checking on this golf ball sized lump that suddenly (overnight) appeared on my leg.  This of course threw all of my plans out of whack (So much for that dump run I had planned around classwork! lol). It's not a bite. It didn't come from injury. An exam suggest it was probably nothing of concern but erring on the side of caution we did some tests. There are no blood clots associated with it. This sort of thing can be caused by an embolism and a blood clot could lead to stroke or loss of leg. Glad that checked out.  So it doesn't appear to be a threat to my health. But is very weird and tender. I've been given antibiotics, have been instructed to remain off it as much as possible, elevation, ice and compression and to remain on alert to any negative changes. So far so good, however, I have not yet decided if the antibiotics are really something I need to take. If I were running a fever or if the area were hot.. but right now.. Im going to wait and see.

In all other news... life is grand.

Tomorrow we are hosting a "Lego Movie" Birthday party. We are expecting a household of mostly middle school aged children. 14 in all. Denise might make it down from Reno and our sweet neighbor Kathleen will probably stop by. We are celebrating Lego Movie style. Ive got cakes to bake and a house to straighten.. or rather, supervise Willows baking and Connor cleaning! Its not his birthday yet! Much love!

It Takes Both Sunshine and Rain to Make a Rainbow

Our new years celebration didn't go quite as planned. Some friends of willow from school last year where having a sleep over and so we started out enjoying a pot luck dinner with the parents of her friend group. The majority being teachers and school administrators who all worked at the school the kids went to last year which offered a nice common starting ground. If we lived closer I am quite certain I would be in the book club. 

The remaining three of us left with the intention of checking into our hotel and heading out to enjoy the local tradition known as First Night (an alcohol free celebration of the arts which encompasses all of old Monterey) and cross over the threshold into 2015 on ice skates.  I had booked us with a hotel which was affiliated with the event but it turned out to be  some 4 miles away and  was not offering shuttle service to the event. We could have gotten a taxi but settled instead for frolicking/relaxing in the heated pool and Jacuzzi and by the time we were done it was far too late to try and get to town.  So we curled up in our pj's and cheered it in with some beer our landlord had gifted us. Well not Connor. He doesn't drink but he did pass out right quick.

The new year has already provided us a wonderful gift.. Our leach lines have finally been laid out and backfilled. It turned out that the property is situated on/near a shallow slab of granite bedrock which was causing issues so the leach line had to be run for a distance to allow for drainage. I am very happy to finally able to use the tub without worrying about or creating backup issues! 2 years almost just looking at and dreaming about using it...and I LOVE baths!

Look at how inviting it is!

Anyway.. so the year is starting off wonderful and wet.

And speaking of baths.. A quick trip for the kids and I to LA area is in the planning stage to visit an old friend, take in a sound bath (A meditation session that uses gongs and bowls) and then spend a day at an expo where I hope to catch a lecture by a solar scientist that I greatly respect.

I have always been a sun worshiper... Admiration and gratitude extended  quietly outward every sunrise and sunset while I drink in the glorious and stunning displays.

 I have always been a star gazer.. intrigued by the mystery.. the totally beyond-our-comprehension enormity of the universe .. Caught up in the grind of life here on earth we easily ignore its existence.. its influence.. Did you know that in a solar flare all of the elements in the periodic table are emitted. Born of star stuff... we are children of the cosmos. As I see it, contemplation of the universe is contemplation of Divinity.

Anyway I digress! Fun times are in the works. For now, we have returned to our regularly scheduled programming.. jumping into work and school. We put away all the Christmas decorations and then Connor got busy exploring the art of bead work. I think he was impressed with his creation.

While he attended to that delicate work, I popped in one of the greatest gifts my mom gave me this winter.. old video footage of the family from back when Billy and I were the exact same ages as Connor and Willow are now.  I was such an awkward goofy dork in 9th grade. I avoided the camera and when I didn't I had this derpy look in every shot... that is except for the one where I smile just before turning to hit Bill. No wonder he didn't like me! 

Lots of laughs in those clips... and how wonderful to see my Pops lumbering and lounging. 

And time demands I end this rambling here. So I will simply leave you with the smile that has long warmed my heart. A little Rainbow Sunshine right here. TTFN

An End is Here and So Is A Beginning

Ive been looking back over and sorting the photos I have from 2014.... Not an easy task... I took thousands...  And as I sort I realize that it was a VERY BUSY year.

School: Willow finished Jr High and moved on to High School. She is doing good there. Connor moved up into Jr. High and began an independent study program which suits him. There were field trips and graduation ceremonies. There were Science fairs and History Day Fairs.... It was a full of academics to say the least!

Extra Curricular:  We traveled a bit this year. Went up to San Francisco and saw  naked people riding bikes (A sight that has forever scared Connor!) We saw comedians and took in hockey games. We went camping. We got in as many visits with family and old friends as we could work in. Connor performed in his first play. Willow got her braces off. I started learning Bass over the summer. We broke many pairs of glasses. There was a road trip to Etna for funerals. The roommates moved out. We almost bought a house (It was a blessing it didn't work out!) We flew mom out for a visit for Christmas. She got to watch Connors play, helped teach him to hand stitch, Got to see the kids schools, enjoy gifts and relax with her zentangling while I whirled around the kitchen prepping 24 loafs of zuchinni bread for a handful of Greg's employees.  The year was uber eventful. And all told wonderful with much to be thankful for. 

Gregs Work:  I don't have the official break down yet but Id estimate that Greg spent 3 full months on the road over the course of the year. Seeing mostly the inside of hotel rooms and conference halls. He was going to run a half marathon but travel made it not possible. Meanwhile he got the plant better staffed to support him and made strides in putting down some of his load. With his free time he started an MBA program. He is doing great. 

Health: Connor was misdiagnosed with Turrets Syndrome this year but that diagnosis led me to the correct one of Aspergers. As I research, I realize he is doing well and we have him on track for a full life. He just takes some extra work and handling but I have that covered. Otherwise we are all in generally good health and have started going to a Chiropractor to make sure we stay that way.

Heartbreaks: We had to put our dog, Splash, to sleep this year. Speculations abound as to what happened to him. Regardless he is in a better place despite how much we miss him. He was my shadow.

Im not going to spend much more time looking out over "What has Been" other than to post the link to my year in review photo albums below.

Coming up this year.. More theater is in the works. I have enrolled both kids to participate in "Wonderland" in the Spring. We will heading to Marble Mountain with my cousin and his family this summer. Plans to go to a play in SF with other cousins need to be addressed.  Everything else will roll right on into the next year. Smooth... no hiccups. Keep on keeping on and all that.. next year will be great. 

As for resolutions... I have some  minor pixalation adjustments to make and I need to shift my antenna to clear some static but no major upgrades are planned. But if they happen.. so be it! All as it should be. 

2014 in Pics

Scenic Beauty from the Road 2014

Bringing it in ...  on a brisk night.. feeling the chill...under the stars... Subtle sounds in my ears.... and ice beneath my feet.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!