Six Senses Sunday #2

See:
* My name through the trees! It's on a U-Haul van that was used to move really obnoxious neighbors out so I was pleased to see that van for 2 reasons. As you can imagine, I rarely see my name in New Mexico...Canada, Paris, even at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas but never in New Mexico!
*The most amazing sunrises and sunsets walking to and from the bus stop most days.
* Old photos that I've taken in January past. Only the one above was taken this year, but all of these were taken in a January.

Hear:
*Many more birds in the trees, Grackles singing me to the bus stop in spite of the gray sky every single morning lately, beautiful sunrise, gray sky...
* Random bits of Eric Clapton on some commercial. I finally saw it today and I love it!
* Vague songs in the background in restaurants...and then I have to figure out what it is and then it stays in my head for the rest of the day...why do I do that? Makes me crazy!

Touch:
* The feel of paper in an old book. I read the same book every year in the fall and this year I got distracted and just finished it this week. My copy was published in 1958 and has a whole different feeling than the new books I check out from the library.
* The sun on my face for the few minutes it was out today. As soon as it shone through the window, I was outside. I've missed it so much this week!
*The difference in tissues, some of the cheap ones are more like #2 sandpaper! Can you tell my allergies are out of control...again...

Taste:
* The first asparagus of the season! I try hard to eat seasonally but come on...it was $1.99 at Sunflower...and it's spring somewhere right? It was so delish and such a change from cabbage, cauliflower and frozen stuff...that seasonal/local eating is important to me...except for salmon and mangos and ... okay I'm a firm believer in the 80/20 theory of eating
* A new kind of apple to me...Jazz. It's no Honeycrisp but it's not bad
* The comfort of Earl Grey and not even minding that it is decaf...
* An especially wonderful bruschetta with blue cheese and spinach...who knew?

Feel:
* Frustration at not being able to control a medical condition. I should be able to do that right? I mean it is my body so I should have control over it!!!
* Delight in knowing I get to go to class one more time and sad that it is ending. I have really had a good time with Cynthia Cook and what a great teacher she is. She does a little talking, gives a demo of something, lets us try it and work on our own and is available to answer any questions. And then she does more talking or another demo to answer the questions. She learns from us as well and it has been a great experience.

Smell:
* Freshly ground nutmeg in my oatmeal
* Leaves that are rotting, getting ready for spring
* The powdery perfume someone wears at work that sets off my allergies...
* Really beautiful lilies in the grocery store, smelled like summer somehow.

Thanks to Melanie I have been enjoying doing these six senses. It feels like an expansion of Christina's simple things activities and my grace in small things. I like it!

No matter what it's called...

Winter...holiday...cold...cooking...moon of the terrible...quite...wolf...ice or rainbow fish moon...
it makes me happy

Simply Happy

My soulful friend, Christina, over at Soul Aperture is blogging about the simple things. And inviting us to join in. Her lovely family will donate money for each blogger that joins in to aid Haiti. How could I not join the party! So here is my list...for today anyway!

Like the picture, the promise of spring, even when the sky is still gray...

A class! Where I learn a new skill! That requires power tools!

The morning greeting: "how you be?"

White chocolate, covered in white chocolate, surrounded by white chocolate.

Avocados and rice cakes for supper.

Hair ribbons...

Making Valentines.

Finding the next book in a series.

Crows directing sky traffic every morning with out fail...

The hawks returning to the park.

Jasmine tea

Wearing my favorite earrings

Leonard Cohen, sorry I had to include him again...

Baby aspirin

Plans to look forward to...

and comments from my friends!

Good morning!!

How can it be anything but good when you are greeted by this...

And this....he's back!!

I love my camera!!

Six Senses Sunday

I've wanted to do 5 senses Friday for sometime and when Melanie figured out that there needed to be an addition of the 6th sense...I decided to jump right in...2 weeks later...and when she changed it to Sunday...I liked it even better. So here is my list, after a great weekend in the mountains!
See:
* Sandhill Cranes!! Flying in, landing and eating in the Bosque del Apache
* Geraniums in the winter sunshine
* A small love note taped to the window by a loving granddaughter

Touch:
* My favorite flannel shirt
* Warm blankets, just the perfect weight to keep me warm but not feel smothered
* Glue on my fingers, glitter and paper stuck to me because of it

Taste:
* Home made maple walnut scones
* Green chili , beans and warmed tortillas
* Strawberry sushi with wasabi and pickled ginger! Really good...

Hear:
* Leonard Cohen Live from London, yes again... okay still... and always
* The cranes flying over head
* Friends laughter

Feel:
* Astonishment at the perfect timing of looking over just as a petal fell off a bloom
* Annoyance at one of my favorite authors for such an unsatisfying ending to a good book
* The pleasure of my friends' company

Smell:
* Bacon cooking
* A touch of spring in the rain
* The way the heater smells in a car when it is really cold and it comes on...

I had such a lovely weekend with my friends and even got to help with a fund raiser for a Performing Arts Series that brings great entertainment opportunities to a small town. It also gave me the chance to sit and do art for 3 hours! Hope your weekend was lovely too!

"Explore your mind, discover yourself, then give the best that is in you to your age and to your world. there are heroic possibilities waiting to be discovered in every person." Wilfred Peterson

And then the sun shone in...

I ride the bus. Every day. And so I have many, many opportunities to learn interesting life lessons. I used to ride a bus that went by 2 methadone clinics and the people I rode with gave me a whole new perspective. Now I ride a bus that goes by 4 different agencies that serve people who are homeless. My fellow passengers now are mostly men, mostly down on their luck, shabby, gentle souls who are polite, respectful and thoughtful. It's like riding with a congregation of the Dharma Bums that Jack Kerouac wrote about. For the most part, I enjoy their company.
Yesterday, on a very cold, gloomy morning the bus station was jam packed with folks trying to stay out of the cold at 7 in the morning so I choose to wait outside. Another person who chose to wait in the cold was a man in a wheelchair that I ride with often. He is always polite, always helpful, a genuine pleasure to be around and homeless. And there was a woman who complained incessantly...incessantly. He tried to redirect each and every complaint. The driver arrived and was going to let us get in out of the cold. She announced that she had no bus pass and intended to ride. The driver just looked at her. The man spoke to her quietly and she asked if she could ride to the homeless shelter..please. The driver let her on. As we waited for the time of departure, she continued her rant and the man who could have complained about everything, continued to try to redirect her. She began to bitterly complain about the cold...incessantly. And suddenly, a bus moved and the sun shone in...so brightly it filled the bus with light. It felt a little miraculous, okay... a lot miraculous. She began to shriek because it was in her eyes...shriek. My fellow passenger gently said to her..."you would curse the cure for your bitter complaint because it surprised you?" Lesson learned...

Be an explorer...read, surf the internet, visit customers, enjoy arts,watch children play...do anything to prevent yourself from becoming a prisoner of your knowledge, experrience and current view of the world." Charles Thompson

Grace in small things:
1. I don't have to carry everything I own with me.
2. I am warm 90% of the time.
3. When I am cold, I can get warm.
4. I have the opportunity to learn, explore, grow and change based on what I find out.
5. The sun does shine about 360 days of the year in New Mexico.

Two days in a row...

For a year that started out so well, I could only sustain it for 2 days in a row. This morning I made a series of bad choices that built up and turned into mistakes that delayed me and made my friend wait for me and that frustrated me no end. Just as I was about to loose it, I heard a sound that touches my heart. I was in the right place at the right time to hear Sand Hill cranes fly over head. Aaaaaahhhhhh. The rest of the day was lovely and even included a nap.

"After all these years, I am still involved in the process of self-discovery. It's better to explore life and make mistakes than to play it safe. Mistakes are part of the dues ones pays for a full life." Sophia Loren

Grace in small things:
1. Clear crisp days that warm up.
2. Excellent vanilla soy lattes
3. Fantastic Mr. Fox... of course George Clooney could read a phone book and I would be happy
4. The anticipation of a new class and assembling tools!
5. Sand Hill cranes, the way they sound, they way they look flying, the peace they bring to me

Off to a good start

Happy New Year!
How could it not be a great year when it starts out like this?
My word for 2010 is explore.

Any ideas?