The image of the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin, Germany (cover photo) is a place of contemplation, a place of remembrance and warning. It is close to the Brandenburg Gate in the heart of Berlin. If you understand what it represents, it can be haunting. If not, it seems almost restful. Continue reading Remembering
The first day I worked in the Bakery Candy Kitchen at Harry & David, we were making the Traditional Fruitcakes. I wondered who on earth was still eating these things. We made thousands, in an assembly line, and it moved fast. I could barely keep up. I felt like Lucille Ball on the chocolate line, only there is no snitching of anything EVER on the Harry … Continue reading The Fruitcake that Brought me to Tears
This Valentine’s Day was a Full Moon. We couldn’t see it because of the outrageous downpour of rain we are experiencing, but Ben felt it. He has been a little obsessed with werewolves lately. I made the mistake of explaining that the moon actually has a pull on us – same as the oceans’ tides – because we are 70% water. When I was younger, I … Continue reading Full Moon, Valentine’s Day, Werewolves and Baby Goats
This morning, I read again from the gorgeous gardening, meditation, living life book, “Gardening at the Dragon’s Gate: At Work in the Wild and Cultivated World,” by Wendy Johnson. She writes in a way that makes me want to go out and kiss my garden and hold the dirt in my hands and whisper blessings over it for all it does for us. Farm … Continue reading Of Cycles and Circles and Seeds and Beginnings
Today, we celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr’s birthday with a couple of videos* specifically tailored for children’s understanding. When we were done, my six-year old announced that he was going to color a picture of Martin Luther King, Jr. Ben joined him in coloring on the living room floor, and I printed out the “I Have a Dream Speech,” to read to them as they … Continue reading Majestic Heights of Soul Force
In addition to all the Christmas presents Ben made out of paper and tape, and the tree itself, and all the decorations, he didn’t think the living room was quite festive enough until he created a life-sized Elf. I just sat back and watched him create this in a matter of minutes. His creativity totally blows my mind. Continue reading Christmas Elf
It has snowed a whole bunch in our area. (I am so cheating with this photo. It’s from a photo site and not one I took of our current storm.) Our snow is bad, but not this bad. It’s packed, it has stayed on the ground for almost a week, in six to eight inch depths mostly. The roads are icy and dangerous. Some parts … Continue reading Winter Storm Driving
It never occurred to me how very Christmas-like is the world of Gnomes. The gorgeously illustrated book of Gnomes was something my dad and mom had out on their coffee table when I was younger. I remember pouring through the pictures and spending hours daydreaming about life in the forest as a Gnome. Perhaps, that was even my first introduction to the adventures of a self-sustaining … Continue reading Gnomes and Christmas and Coffee Tables for Daydreaming
We get to see my little sister and her family tomorrow, as they drive through our area on their way to their new home in Portland, Oregon. She has been in the San Francisco Bay Area all her adult life. She has had the most terrific views, and walked to everything she loves doing. She has moved a couple of times, but this is … Continue reading The Sucker Punch of Moving
Sometimes it hits me, how beautiful life is right now. My husband and I watched the Season Finale, the Epic Finale, of The Office tonight. We have watched this show our entire married life. When the Writer’s Strike interrupted production, we went back to old DVDs of previous seasons, and even checked out the British version on the BBC. We could not understand a … Continue reading Dwell in the Glory Days
This year, more than anything else, and of course, there is so much to be thankful for always. But this year, it is the fact that my children understand the concept of gratitude. That my little Bean, at five, wants to write thank-you cards to anyone who does something nice for him. He dictated thank-you cards this year to people who had sent him … Continue reading Grateful that my Kids Comprehend Gratitude
Excerpt from the NPR interview with Tom Stoppard, Screenwriter for the Adaptation of Anna Karenina: On what he thinks love is “Love is — OK, it’s 20 things, but it isn’t 19. And I think that love reaches for something which is very, very deep in us and is very easily obscured, and is also very easily denied, which is the instinct towards the other person, … Continue reading “Love is 20 things, but it isn’t 19”
My father served in the Army in Korea. He was there when Kennedy was shot. He used to tell us “War Stories” after dinner around our table. The stories he told were about the crazy, funny antics of military life. They were never the serious, sad, losing people stories. We were little girls. Now we are all mothers and some of us are grandmothers. We … Continue reading Cost of Freedom Tribute – The Travelling Wall
Talk about going through the motions. Grown-ups never cease to amaze me, and not always in a good way. Last night we trick-or-treated with our kids for two hours in a Kid-friendly neighborhood where houses were decorated, pumpkins lined sidewalks, and some houses even had creepy music piped out into the street. It was everything a kid could want for Halloween. Except that we walked … Continue reading Night of the Living Oblivious
I asked the boys today what their favorite part of the Fall Season is, and they started mentioning all the bright colors of the trees. Before we knew it, we were in the middle of a gigantic art project. I pick up these enormous sized papers at Costco – they give them to me for free when I tell them I’m working with young artists … Continue reading Keeping Little Hands Busy while Daddy is installing the Wood Stove
There are so many gorgeous colors in the world. I am drawn to colors and the juxtaposition of colors, the interesting array of possibilities, the “World is our Canvas” mentality, and splashes of brilliant color all over the place. I am one who will find beauty in even the dullest landscapes, by seeking out a tiny spot of color. On Saturday night, I dreamed a … Continue reading I Dream in Mass Quantities of Color!
Over dinner the other night, Ben, our 8-year old, explained that this phrase was how Koko, the signing gorilla, described a Birthday Party. Ben is fascinated by gorillas, and this one in particular, and reads everything he can on the subject. This month, several bloggers are discussing our self-image, aging, the masks we wear, why we chose the Profile Picture we use – how old … Continue reading “Eat, Drink, Get Old”
It is still raining in Southern Oregon. Last year was our first year in this kind of weather, and it got a little depressing around the edges for most of the people in my family. I have a confession to make, though. I love the rain. I even love long days of nothing but gray sky, and fits of wimpy drops of rain, with lots … Continue reading Slogging Rain that ends in Chartreuse
The Valentine’s Day card Ben and I made on the computer to pass out at the 2nd Grade Party My seven-year old hates Valentine’s Day. He will make that known to anyone who will listen to him. Yet he pours out his heart in letters to his little girlfriend back in California. These two have been an item since the middle of Kindergarten. At the … Continue reading Do not go gentle – but Rage, Rage!
For my mother’s 70th birthday, her four daughters surprised her and took her to the St. Francis Hotel on Union Square in San Francisco for a festive sleep-over with all of us grown women. We had multiple presents for her to open – lots of little things that took all evening. We went to a sumptuous dinner and walked around Union Square looking in all … Continue reading A Sleep-over with Grown Women!
