08/31/2021

"Let everything happen to you.

Beauty and terror. Just keep 

going. No feeling is final."

~Rainer Maria Rilke

So love Rainer Maria Rilke! Seems

about the time I begin to lose it, I run 

across one of his quotes and it jolts

me right out my mood.

This weekend I was so wrapped up in

the joy of spending time with my children, 

it was nigh onto impossible to remember 

said joy when faced with the sorrow of the 

goodbyes.

Doubt very much I'll be breaking into

song a la Julie Andrews with my favorite

things any time soon. Having said that, 

I suppose there's naught wrong with 

reminding oneself of a few happys!

I swear I am going to enjoy every moment

of the waning days of summer rather than

worry about the soon approaching autumn.

I may as well go for broke and celebrate

the new and improved bod as opposed to

all that needs yet to be accomplished!

And by the way, me thinks Santa isn't the 

only one who can make a list and check 

it twice. Careful, I may just go off the deep 

end here and burst into song!

Hey Julie, I'm really getting into this; 

want to come on over?!

08/30/2021

Sooooo many goodbyes, ever

so many! From time to time, I am

reminded of just how many there have 

been in my life.

Perhaps the most difficult are those

long goodbyes that are forever . . .

my grandparents, brother, dad, mom.

There are those that I love ever so

much who have simply moved out of

reach. Thank goodness there are letters,

cards, e-mails.

Sometimes I find myself missing those

I love who are quite near. The good

thing about this is that something can

be done about it! Am ever so grateful

for that!

Once in a while, I think about a child

hood friend I haven't seen in forever.

I imagine the conversations we would

have in our catching up. I even wonder

if we would still like each other. Still,

'twould be most wondrous to see them.

And, there are even our animal friends

we've had to say goodbye to. Wouldn't

think that were as hard as it turns out

to be. Ever so loyal, always glad to see

us, tails awag with joy . . .

I find I'm rather sad and tired of good

byes. I pray this doesn't mean I'm on 

my way . . .

08/29/2021

OMG . . . I'm tempted to say,

Oh, my fucking God, but I did

promise my daughter I would

no longer say that . . .  but, what

can you say when your entire

family coalesces around you?!

I am sooooo NOT kidding!

Moments shared, memories

reiterated and fought about,

glorious times out of times . . .

Frankly, there are NO WORDS!

Special glimpses into the past,

fave foods shared and enjoyed,

the retelling of tales told out of

school; did I say GLORIOUS?!

Indeed, I do praise all the gods

in creation for moments such as

these.  They are not to be taken

lightly, nor for granted. I pray

the powers at be know just how

much I value these glimpses into

my own eternity. Wow!

Dear hearts, know that I love you,

understand that you are adored,

I would die for you . . . indeed, 

alas, I prefer to live for you . . . but 

whatever the universe exacts from

me,  I'm sooooo there for you!!!

08/28/2021

"Those who do not move 

do not notice their chains."

~Rosa Luxenburg

Wow! Time and time again, I 

notice what must be messages

from the Universe . . .

 . . . They might be found in the

book you're currently reading.

A road sign just might have a 

special meaning. A lovely thing 

about FB is the published quotes.

Bottom line, we must pay attention 

to these post scripts the Universe

sends out to us! I tend to think

they're reminders to stay on our

chosen path and continually move

forward, no matter the pace.

Today is a new day. I want to pay

attention to these special messages.

Within my soul, I find I need to

understand, wish to grow, and so

want to arrive at a better 

understanding of my own path!

a new day dawning

search for truth at every turn

need to walk my path 

08/27/2021

"There's something about being

broken at various times in your

life that makes you a more

complete person." ~j. iron word

I find this statement such a great

consolation! Me thinks we are

somewhat trained to believe we

are less in our broken times. And,

we've all been there.

Looking back over my life, I can

clearly see those specific times

when I was indeed broken and

barely coping. My heart so goes 

out to that young girl, that middle 

aged woman, that older gal . . .

all of my other me's.

I remember thinking I was really

messed up, incapable of wholeness,

 . . . broken and thus a failure. I'd

work so hard to come 'round, grow, 

return to normal. And when I felt

better, oh how I would look down 

on the me that had surrendered to 

her own dark side.

I'm a Libra! I have a dual name!!

One of me should have been

understanding and supportive of

the other me whilst I was down.

I sorrow to have learned this so

late in my own life. But perhaps,

I'll be less judgmental next time

around.

08/26/2021

Have you ever just pondered the 

birth of a friendship? Me thinks 

there's naught quite like it!

I remember a few years back when 

my guy was building my vardo, or

gypsy wagon. It has been mentioned 

that my new neighbors stopped by 

from time to time to see the progress

of my dream come true!

Alas, I don't recall, but I was taking

care of my mom 24/7 and I mean

24/7. I was exhausted beyond the 

pale. 

Another time, I was told that my 

neighbor and I spent some time by 

the fence, sharing an elk moment.

There seemed to be dozens and

dozens of them! Rather scary yet

incredibly beautiful!!!

Best of all, one afternoon several

of my female colleges and I were 

gathered 'round the picnic table, 

quite wined up, as it were. All of

a sudden, up the walk comes this

gal waving and carrying a large

bottle of pink wine.

I've always referred to rosé wine

as pink . . . my mom's fave color

and preferred wine. Not quite sure 

I'd ever be caught dead drinking it. 

I hear now that I accepted a glass 

of the proffered wine, subsequently

dumping it just underneath my

bench. All these moments, part of

our friendship history and a cause

for hilarity on rare occasion.

Lo, all these years later, friendship

has been built on a firm foundation,

as well as the odd chuckle now and

again! What an amazing gift!

And no, I still can't drink pink wine!

08/25/2021

Funny . . . my little brother has been

on my mind of late. He'd be turning 

70 this summer, and yet, I still think 

of him as my little brother.

We're not even two years apart, but as

he was blind as well as a tad special, 

I grew up having my own caretaking

with him.

I've spoken of him often and do not

particularly wish to repeat . . . just

having my own remembering! One 

thing I recall was the close bond 

he had with his seeing-eye dogs. I

believe he had four in his lifetime.

They were all so amazing, trained

as I have never seen in any canines 

before. The essential detail was,

with his dogs he was whole. He

walked down the sidewalk so fast

I couldn't keep up.

I can't even imagine the pain he 

must have felt at the passing of

each friend, for friend was exactly 

what they were to him. 

I don't know just which little bit

of paradise the gods have gifted

him, but I pray he has his four

faithful companions with him.

Blessed be . . .

08/24/2021

"Cherish the natural world, because

you're a part of it and you depend on it."

~Sir David Attenborough

I have always appreciated and revered

the work and writings of Sir David. He

is a gentle reminder of how things need

to be in this world of ours. I so lament

we are slowly, but surely destroying her.

Of course we all wish things would be

different. I imagine we tend to think

we're only one person in our roughly

8 billion souls on the planet. So, how

to help realistically?!

I tend to think in concentric circles. 

Imagine, if you will, you in your own

small circle. Throughout your day,

you make the effort to use reusable

plates and cutlery. You use your 

recycle bin religiously. On your a.m.

walk, you carry a bag into which you

place unsightly trash as you go along.

Now imagine everyone on earth doing

exactly the same thing. All those small

concentric circles overlapping. Little

by little we get our own house clean!

Let's pick up our butts, bin our bottles,

wash our wine glasses for reuse and

above all, teach our children!!! For

they are the ones who will ultimately

be losing their home if our world ends.

surrounded by trash

mother earth pray forgive us

promising to help

08/23/2021

omg! OMG!! O M G !!!

Never in my entire life have I seen

a full moon such as last night! The

sky was black, the clouds capricious

in their color span of dark . . . the 

sun-yellow moon dancing, invading 

the celestial celebration absolutely 

uninvited!

It was as if fantasyland and fairyland

coalesced into some kind of spontaneous

party of the gods! I watched fascinated

as our Lunar Lady wended her way up 

through those dark clouds.

Sooooo cannot gild the lily on this one!

My soul is humbled by this heretofore 

unexperienced beauty . . .

on celestial stage

lunar lady come to me

ever so undone

08/22/2021

There are times when Mama Earth

gifts us such amazing moments, I

swear I could die on the spot!

Yesterday was a three-for . . . oh

my God!The storm was raging and

dead scary! I feared it would never

end. Made my guy hold me ever 

so tight.

And then, and then, an explosion 

of color . . . the most glorious rain

bow I've ever seen . . . earth to 

earth, in a perfect  semi circle. It

must have felt like partying as it

hung around an awfully long time

for a rainbow!

Night begins to creep up on us . . .

ever so slowly. One of the gifts

the plains bring to us is an artist's

canvas. On this side of the canvas,

the sun is slowly sinking in the west. 

It is simply impossible to describe

the beauty. 

Simultaneously, in the opposite 

direction, Lady Luna begins her 

assent in the east. For this one 

moment in time, polar opposites 

salute each other across the sky. 

I find myself weeping, overcome 

by beauty such as I had never 

seen before.      

How, just how, do the gods deal

with the evil we humans bring to

the table?! Can't believe they just 

don't wipe us out in one fell swoop! 

I know I would . . .     

good bye mister sun

lunar lady come to me

beauty side by side    

08/21/2021

'Tis a rare occasion when asked to

survive a glorious afternoon with 

#1 fave s-daughter, sans familial

males . . . be still my heart!!!

We chewed on everything from 

a delicious repast of events long 

forgotten to current events most 

unforgettable . . . and we hadn't

even brought out the margs yet!

There is something ever so

bittersweet about memory lane!

I'd been intending to visit those

special places ere this, but have

somehow neglected to do so.

The kids were so young, just

discovering themselves, trying

different facades on for size. I

remember this as ever sooooo

delightful. It awakens in me a

kaleidoscope of memories most

precious.

Were the gods to grant me one

wish, me thinks 'twould be for

all the children of the world to

have most wondrous memories

of their childhood . . . alas, 'tis

not to be . . . rather breaks my

heart!

loving me some kids

most precious beyond measure

rare gifts of the gods

*Special hugs and thankyous to

most awesome s-daughter Sarah!

08/20/2021

We survived the night . . .

The day started off auspicious enough!

It was beautiful out, as well as promising.

We took our time getting ready as the 

kids had school, wanting to arrive about 

the time they'd get out.

It really didn't start raining until we were

about halfway there. 'Twas a decent enough

rain; we got a proper carwash out of it, as

it were.

Enjoyed the evening with the family, but 

we oldsters tend to go to bed sooner than

the youngsters.

Not sure the exact time the imposter tornado

hit, but Noah's boat had nothing on this one!

Our boat rocked and rocked. So lucky we

were still hooked up to the pickup; steadied

it a bit.

Upon awaking this a.m. there were puddles

of water everywhere. Still, me thinks the

sun doth shine on us today!

water as a friend

water as an enemy

which to be today

08/19/2021

"Summertime and the livin' is easy!"

~George Gershwin

What is it about fresh veggies, 

ripened on the vine, that outclass 

anything you can buy at the 

supermarket?!

Last night, we were gifted bounty 

of the vine . . . tomatoes and squash. 

I swear, somewhere 'twixt and 'tween 

this gal and the goddess, ambrosia! 

I treated myself to salted slices for 

a fine breakfast in bed this morning.

Every time I see her gardens or taste

the fruit of her labors, I am reminded

of our great Mother Earth and all that

she gifts us.

I love the sunlight by day and the 

moonlight by night. Fresh breezes 

that relieve the heat are downright 

delish! The shade of leafed out trees 

and the unusual scents of wild flowers 

will always be a fave.

I find myself wowed; Mama Nature

blesses all those who grow gardens 

and provide us with fresh delights. 

I don't even want to think about the 

end of summer!

bring on summer sun

color me hot and sweaty

love every minute

*Bright blessings to phenomenal

gardener, Heidi Cox!