Grace in small things...12-31-10 as the year ends...

there are more exciting adventures just ahead...today it was the Bodies Exhibit!

things are not always as they seem

those crows! even more come every day...my neighborhood must have that mark because they are every where...I feel so fortunate they let me close enough to photograph them

amazing sunrises...unbelievable light

flaming desserts in the company of good friends - and no, I did not eat any of those bananas... they were quickly moved to the other side of the plate!

It's been a year of extremes...
the death of one of the best people I know...the birth of a darling baby boy
really good times with my family...really bad time in the hospital
learning to appreciate an old friend in a new way...and finding out someone I thought didn't have a mean bone in their body could be incredibly cruel

I look forward to the new year as a time of
healing,
growing,
adventure,
connections,
interesting times with old friends,
enjoying new friends and
learning to live my small but deep life to the best of my ability

I wish for you
kindness,
joy,
compassion,
balance,
everything you want the year to be and
even some surprises to keep it interesting!

smooches my friends...smooches!

"Luna"tics need to come together for Allegra

For my dear Allegra...http://corazon.typepad.com/recuerda_mi_corazon/2010/12/a-wing-and-a-prayer.html

Grace in small things...12-24-10

1. Atomic baby Jesus in a pulsating bed.

2. Time to reflect

3. A still amazing moon

4. Sharing the Christmas Eve tradition with new friends and seeing it through their eyes...New Mexico really is a cool, kitschy place to live!

5. Time spent in the company of people who care about the same things I do...and getting and giving prezzies!!

Grace in small things...12-23-10

1. A murder of crows swooping in and landing all over the place.

2. Right out side my door. Lots and lots of them...

3.In the most amazing light...and dark...and light sky

4. As if this is where the party is...cawing and swooping and talking amongst themselves.

5. A good day...feeling better...an apple added to the broth/ginger ale menu.

6. There is still this smell in the air and a softness about the light that is addicting. They feel it too. I know they do, I heard them talking about it...loudly.

Grace in small things...12-22-10

1. I get to work with these goof balls! Today was dress up day since nothing says holiday like flannel and bandannas...we just hoped no one got shot when they left for lunch...

2. A bit of a bug has taken up resident and so today I am grateful for ginger ale and chicken noodle soup...without the chicken...or the noodles

3. A random act of tea delivery!

4. Knowing that I have the next 4 days off...count them F O U R!!! yay time off!!

5. And the best for last....7 boxes of Polaroid film!!! I know!!! I'm a lucky girl!!! and thank god I have exclamation points so everyone will know exactly how excited I really am...

Grace in small things...12-21-10

1. The morning after the eclipse was better than the eclipse...I woke up to the most marvelous pink light filling the room...I ran outside barefoot and without a coat to take these pictures before it faded.

2. 360 degrees of amazing pink, orange and actually red light..a wonderful smell in the air...almost like cookies. Remember in Michael when all the women thought he smelled like cookies baking? That's what it was like...honestly!

3. And the crows in the air above me were dancing in the air. With the grackles, they were making the most outrageous racket that made perfect sense to me. Really...it was morning and I hadn't been drinking...even coffee! It was unreal.

4. I wish I could say the rest of the day went as well, but there were absolute periods of not bad interspersed that made me smile.

5. 14,000 things to happy about by Barbara Ann Kipper.

Grace in small things...12-20-10

1. A touch of spring in the air on the first day of winter
2. The lunar eclipse! and the hope that it will be visible tonight
3. The solstice...a new start and the return of light...yay light!!!
4. Candy cane Hershey kisses...I am sooooo glad they are only around once a year
5. Seeing the people who love this season with such joy in their eyes.

Grace in small things...12-19-10

1. Small beings dressed up for the holidays to excited to sit still
2. Benoit Mandelbrot and fractals! My new science crush - sorry Al- no wait, he's all about fractal geometry so he can be my math crush...whew! I'm dying to go to the First Friday Fractals now
3. Learning even more about about Synesthesia- went to a great lecture at the museum today in conjunction with the exhibit Sensory Crossovers. It closes on January 2 and is one of the best they've had. Okay, so this has been my geekiest weekend...ever! PBS is my new BFF
4. Not every poinsettia in town in real...
5. The internet and being able to connect/communicate with people far away and to share their day.

Sleep...less?

Last week I was trying to remember that Shakespeare quote about sleep...I know, I know there is that giant data base in the sky that I could go look for something instantly but it is more challenging to try to retrieve something from my mind that wasn't important when I learned/read it but now is of utmost importance...and then... there on Karen Michel's ETSY page, were the exact lines I was looking for... along with a gorgeous print...

Sleep that knits up the raveled sleeve of care
The death of each day's life, sore labour's bath
Balm of hurt minds, great nature's second course,
Chief nourisher in life's feast.
~William Shakespeare, Macbeth

I am not a good sleeper...never have been. Don't know why. The descriptive phrase my daddy used for my sleep habits was piss poor. I wake up every morning at 2:22. Have for as long as I can remember. I usually go back to sleep, but when I don't, I have all these things that go through my head...did I leave something undone? Can I fix it right now? I've gotten better about letting go of things and trying to go back to sleep...I do have to be at work at 8 regardless of the amount of rest I got. But I am not always successful...

Sometimes things seem just beyond where I can retrieve them... just on the other side of the veil or hidden by a curtain that I can't quite draw. I've tried the "leaving a notebook by my bed so I can write down what I am thinking about" thing... to deal with it later but mostly in the morning it said things like "Uncle Bernie" (I don't have an Uncle Bernie) or high yellow...or something of equal importance. And really, that never helped anyway. I've tried teas, herbal remedies, lucid dreaming techniques...not quite ready for real drugs, still want to be in control I guess. I don't think it bothers me as much as it bothers others that I don't sleep much. Four hours a night is about my average and I am almost groggy all day if I get 8 hours. Just the way I am..but could the world stand it if 8 hours made me more amazing than I already am? ha!

Wouldn't it be nice if a simple STOP could turn off those thoughts? Fortunately these days there are folks on line at 2:22 in the morning so conversations can be had, ideas can be tossed around and it isn't so sucky. A friend is traveling and is sometimes 8 hours ahead, sometimes 7 so it's day there and I can get a update and find out fascinating things about faraway places with strange sounding names...

I know that it sometimes just one of those hot blasts...but it does give me some reflection time...and while I've always known that control is an illusion...I'm being to believe so is sleep...

What do you do to help you sleep?

Grace in small things...

Dogs in capes

5 kinds of desserts

Steven smiling

Traditions continued

Beauty on the table

Thoughtfulness

Boys who take cooking seriously

A chance to visit with family
Happy season of thanks...

Yes, I was late for work....again

it was so worth it...

11-20-10 5:29 pm

West

East

back to the west...

Remains of the Day...of the Dead

The traditional Muertos y Marigold Parade was held a week later than usual
That made it practically perfect in every way
We had more cool nights and warm days so the fall color that I had feared would never show...showed itself over and over and over....
It was time change Sunday so the parade ended just as the sun started to set
It my favorite parade yet...low riders and bikers and skeletons...oh my!
Many more schools and horses and even one horse with a heart on it's butt
Are they called butts on horses?
Any way it was honest and truly practically perfect in every way...
great day,
great company,
and even great food to end the evening...
in a restaurant where
a traveling group of Tango dancers made their way
after visiting several other establishments.
That's entertainment!
Go here to see the photo album of a few of the shots I took:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=94050&id=1313433829&l=e9c1e187eb
I guess we can move on to other holidays now...I guess...practically perfect I tell ya...

Boo! 6 Senses Halloween

Smell:

Sharpies and Shrinky Dinks...so much fun!
I have several new treasures from our adventure...

Taste:

The best chicken noodle soup

Touch:

Fall leaves...and my camera...it's been a while!

Hear:
The first cranes of the season and lots of laughter!

See and feel:

This charming friend who made me laugh so hard today with her amazing costume and great sense of humor! She who is the Queen of Shrinky Dinks! Thanks for the laughs Pati!!

After a totally sucky week that included Urgent Care - Emergency Room - Hospital Stay and all the accompanying paper, dollars, intrusion, annoyance and recovery - today was delightful and wonderful with fall colors (finally!!), pumpkins, cranes, sheep, and lovely company!

What a marvelous morning for a moon dance...

The moon rise this morning...some call it the Hunter's Moon

or the Kindly Moon

or the Blackberry Moon

most commonly called Harvest Moon

a few call it the Blood Moon

and from the Dakaota Sioux...Moon when quilling and beading is done...
no matter what you call it, it's a beautiful way to start the day