A Noticing Life (UPDATED)

 

❤️

I noticed the timeliness of this WORDLE answer on the 15th of July.

I noticed the gloriousness of the rushing white water, against the brilliant blue sky.

I noticed an exhilarating, yet dreamy quality to the morning sky.

I noticed questionable items on a city wall.

I noticed the ad I'd been waiting for since 2020!!

I notice that times are not what they used to be.

I noticed that, again, words arrive at curious times, even if the source or my agreement with those words is questionable.

(Above a quote from a daily calendar page...a calendar I rarely remember to look at and often don't agree with, but do consider now and again.)

The quote from one medical professional to another...then to me: "You can't care more than the patient does". I played with this one a lot this week by removing "patient" and inserting many a word (person or group of persons) to roll around in my mind for a bit.

I noticed a man's half-sleeve tattoo, looking rather Big Cat like (that is until I saw Saskia's new puppy's belly today while trying to catch up on blog reading. Upon noticing that guy's tattoo, I wondered why only the forearm? How do these choices get made? What do they mean (if anything)?

I noticed that the weaving is very, very slow going...but still satisfying. 

I noticed a giant X in the sky, thinking X Marks the Spot! Or perhaps a giant Kiss! "Scuse me while I kiss the sky"...Purple Haze lyrics!! A little fun making a jaunt out to run errands eXtra special.

❤️~❤️~❤️~❤️~❤️

Sunday, mid-day, 97 degrees: I noticed a middle-aged women, sitting on the curb near a bus stop - her wheelchair beside her. Immediately I noticed a peer aged women, her car pulled curbside with the emergency flashers on...walking towards the sitting woman while opening a bright deep pink umbrella. I had passed them by the moment they connected, but I knew what would be next and my heart swelled with such a kindness, one human to another.

❤️~❤️~❤️~❤️~❤️

LINK

I noticed this 7 year old video pop up and am giggly surprised at the timely lyrics (they can be found in the description box), which speak of man's impact on nature "Giving Tree" style. Perfect.

❤️~❤️~❤️~❤️~❤️

Over 20 years ago, when I taught Pre-K, I often used the word "noticed" in conversation with the children. It seemed to validate to them that they were being heard. It helped during group times, when their input could be quite random and unrelated or long-winded (more than the other children in the group could concentrate on at least). Anyway, I would confirm with them..."you noticed that" ( or some-such sentence). One little turning five years old boy (one with a twin brother in a not always stable, fluctuating household) really latched on to this phrase. By the end of the school year, he would end his group time contributions by sitting up a little straighter, puffing out his chest and saying in closing: "I noticed that". It was just the thing for this sweet, pure, innocent boy...it taught him pride in self and I've never forgotten that...or him.

❤️~❤️~❤️~❤️~❤️

UPDATE: 

I forgot to add this poem, which my dear friend had sent to me last Friday. I very much wanted to share it. It seemed another piece in the Puzzle of Life.

A day is not lost if you failed to tick off a list, or a diet was broken.
A day is only lost if you forgot to say something kind to yourself, or another.
If you forgot to pause and search for a tiny spark of beauty amongst the drudgery, glimmering like gold in the mud.
A day is only lost if you forgot that life, even in the worst of times, is still a gift.
A gift you so very much deserve to live through
and not just survive.

Donna Ashworth

Book: Wild Hope

❤️~❤️~❤️~❤️~❤️

May you notice others

May you notice the connections

May you notice the children

xo

Photos by NAE @pomegranatetrail ©2023

A Week of Life

 

I've done some weaving, slowly. I'm working on it again today.

The rhythm that is weaving feels so calm, so good. The decisions needing to be made, feel easy and almost always end up pleasing. And if they don't, it is such an easy fix. So, today I'm thinking that this description sounds like a pretty nice life, if you can weave it that way.

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This week, while commuting,  I heard two interesting stories on NPR.  So, I came home to find them and share them with y'all. I think I'd heard of these fireflies before, but since it is not anywhere close to my neck of the woods...I kinda forgot about it. I guess it can be fun to re-find things you didn't even know were lost to you! Ha. Anyway, I found the fireflies video so I could for a mental image of this amazing part of nature.

Heard on NPR:

A firefly story (2 minute listen)

LINK

Children's Book: Fireflies

A lovely story on interacting with living beings, no matter how small.

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I thought it was so interesting to hear how the birds are using man-made materials for their own protection. One of the items sure gave me a chuckle!

Heard on NPR: 

A bird story  (1 minute listen)

"Heads on the fence"...the strange things I see while on the road.

~~~~~

With all of my thoughts on clutter or decluttering...it never really occurred to me that folks study this! The thought of counting every single item seems overwhelming! What brave folks to open up their homes and ways of life to be filmed, studied, researched!

LINK

I don't have much more for this weekend. I'm just here trying to give my posting a weaving rhythm. I hope you are all doing well and enjoying a Summer rhythm of your own.

May you listen and learn

May you smile and chuckle

May you embrace the ins & outs

xo

Photos by NAE @pomegranatetrail ©2023 

When...

 

When...

...it is too hot for too long...

...water is not given: either enough water or not given frequently enough...

...care is not taken...

...there is a sense of abandonment...

...there are shadows, and there is also, always light...

...there are others nearby...

...the light is shared... 

...we bloom. When we bloom...

May you find the care, light and company to help you shine.

May you share your shine with others.

May you embrace the cycle...

xo

Photos by NAE @pomegranatetrail ©2023 

 

From "Can-See" to "Can't-See"

Early this morning, the sky was magnificent as I headed out... 

And I came home to another beautiful gift, a postcard showing where my son's family had recently hiked, with words of a 3 year old sharing the experience on the back.

I had the idea to hanging it on the Bulletin Board Tea Towel with the dyed cloths that I'd only just hung this morning. The earthy goodness of the great big beautiful outdoors...right on my kitchen wall!

May you discover spontaneous gifts along your trail.

xo

Photos by NAE @pomegranatetrail ©2023

Strange Humor, Art Making and More

 

Just dropping in...

LINK

...I dropped this video in the draft for a previous post and remembered it was there only when I saw the published post, and it showed up way at the bottom! While I was writing the post, as I added other items above it, there it sank - lower and lower on the screen...until I completely forgot it was there! Imagine my surprise as I scrolled down to respond to a comment and...Surprise! No explanation, no story, nothing. A bread video, all by its lonesome. Sigh.

Anyway, I saw this video and was reminded of the time I sewed together saltines 🙂 At first I thought it was going to be some football themed bread. Doesn't it look that way from the still shot? It brought me a little smile, so I hope it does that for you too. Humor helps.

~~~~~Laugh at the absurdity...or you'll cry at the tragedy of it all.

A recent visit to the VA, always an experience... 

The TV was on for waiting patients, but was only a very dark blue screen of static, which could not be heard. I thought it odd that they just left it playing, as if to say: Yeah, here ya go, here's a TV to watch, good enough. I was insulted for the VET patients, who I thought deserved better. Much later, I heard one staff member talking to another about it..."You need to get your TV fixed"..."Yeah, we need to call "man's name" to come down." I was perplexed to consider that they knew about it...and yet let it continue to play, as is!

There was more...

A man wearing this: HOODIE & PANTS...I guess the answer is obvious if a doctor asks him what medicines/drugs he is using.

A man dangled a gold chain out in front of us as we walked down a hallway. When J. reached out for it (thinking it was being offered), the man snatched it back and let us know he was "selling it". Oh. Because I always buy my gold chains from random guys in the hall of the VA.

There were a wide variety of snappy or interestingly dressed gentlemen. 

This sign made sense to me...

But, when I saw this one, I was scratching my head and instantly thinking of the book by Eric Carle, "From Head to Toe". Why are these in the same department?! These kinds of things make me laugh.

LINK


May we visit doctors as needed, but may we remain on The Wellness Trail always...

I finally unbundled the "mummies" (as J. called them). I had planned...no, considered unwrapping them with Orlo, but that didn't happen. This means they sat baking in the Summer Sun for a long time. I think that timing paid off!

I lucked out with cool photos today. These binding strings will be used in an upcoming weaving (she likes "brown").

Not all of the photos were great, but in the two above, I liked seeing the way the rust pattern traveled. I was reminded of Liz's Moon Myth book. So, I put them here. 

I seem to put lots of photos here.

Cooler pics and the rust, markings, and organized wrinkles are so enchanting! Look at that lit up, white edging on the cloth!! I can see why just this part of the process has become the love affair for Marti. 

Here is everything rinsed (not yet washed) and drying in the bathroom light. Look at those marks!! Magic. I had thrown in a bit of ground cayenne pepper, which was found in a box recently...a gift from Dear Peggy, so many years back. What a nice surprise! We are wondering if that helped give the cloth more color? An experiment is planned. I do think the length of time and the heat was a most powerful influence this time around.

The materials have been gathered (plus the binding string photographed above). Her colors are: Brown, Blue, Green and Purple. I'm not sure about the one very small ball of yarn (bottom, left), as it is a bit too pinkish. We'll see. I like the way these colors look together. Thanks go out to Hazel, Tina and Dee for their contributions to the yarn basket.

I heard this quote recently and spent some time with it. What if accepting that each love is completely unique in it's own right, eased one's expectations for particular levels of satisfaction? Mmmm... That whole idea of reframing seems to pop up a lot recently.

Lat night's WORDLE word was "crone". The timing of that made me smile.

LINK

May you grab that Humor and hold on tight

May you be patient

May you consider things in your world

xo

Photos by NAE @pomegranatetrail ©2023

Long Time Coming

 There was a pool, hikes, meals, animals, books and a boy who Loves to JUMP!!

"Let's run!"

It is important to sit down and rest sometimes!

That my friends is a 3+ foot long rattle snake! Crossed the path right in front of us!

There was matching hats and a Real Old Train!

...and family music making with the Little Director passing out instruments! 

...finding pollywogs and a teeny frog in the stream and of course, more jumping!

...and there were sweet requests to ride in the car next to this guy, which included hand holding, gentle caressing of skin in real time - no screen in between.

There was a bittersweet goodbye...

May you know the important moments as you are living them.

May you hold one another well.

May you continue with deep love

xo

Photos by NAE @pomegranatetrail ©2023

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

 

I took this photo Wednesday evening, so I would remember to put this story here. You will have to use your imagination! So this is the view of the patio, while sitting on the couch. Well, two days ago J. and I were sitting there, on the couch, daytime. It was bright and sunny. At the exact same moment, we BOTH saw a flash (?) of pure light move down the corridor, right-to-left (as seen in this photo). It was the height and could be seen between the white patio railing. So, you have to look closely, past the shiny silver bars on the screen, behind the thermometer...to the space between the wall and the railing. At first I thought maybe it was one of those small white butterflies seen frequently, but it was LIGHT, not white and it was bigger than a small butterfly. The really strange this is J. saw it too (I am more of a noticer than he is).  He thought it may be a reflection from a car door mirror or something shining up the corridor. I disagree, based not on any scientific proof (see how it is over here?!!), but based on how it moved, almost like a bird, flying low...up the corridor it went! Plus, in the years we've lived here...we've never seen anything like this. At some point in our conversations, he called it a 'sprite' (this is 100% out of character for him) and I rather liked that name. Any ideas on what we saw?

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Here is a part in this post about freely going between the past and the present.  I know many of you remember Acey of CIAO and NICHOBELLA...of group collaging, with prompts in January of 2020.

I finally got my act together and sent her an email. I was well-rewarded when she shared a great story about the "Trouble Tree" painting I'd given her years ago. It is a story of sharing and caring and trying to be good people to one another. I was deeply touched.

Original story of the "Trouble Tree" Story Here

Well, now she has a YOU TUBE CHANNEL!! I've spent quite some time watching her videos. 

As a side note: I have never commented on You Tube. Blogs, yes...other places - no. I don't quite know why...perhaps it is a part of my 'keep online world manageable' (as in I don't have accounts for twitter, instagram, FB (anymore) or other join in, create yet another password type places). Perhaps it is my off the beaten path form of personal rebellion (think of past conversations: the I won't pay for more storage or microsoft Word), along with the "No, I won't create yet another password" for this or that...I can live without reading that Times article. Really.

Anyway, believe you, me...Acey has some comment or question worthy content!! So fun to see you this way Acey!

VIDEO ABOVE LINK

The video above is the first one I watched, because of the Jasper flashing on the screen ❤️. So beautiful. This reminded me of two recent rocks in my own world, so I went back to look at them. You can see them and read their stories in these two links:

When Love is the Gift

Gifts

Then, I went looking for a photo of The Trouble Tree in a post/photo. Here it is...hanging in our beloved apricot tree in 2015. The story behind the story, which may or may not be on this blog somewhere...I had stumbled on to this Trouble Tree story in my earliest days of online life. It spoke to me because I really liked the idea of leaving the troubles of the day out of our home and life together. To just make that conscience choice. I'm making that commitment again. 

So, after sitting with the story for a while, I thought I'd love to have a Trouble Tree sign for my little tree, right outside the front door. My godmother used to do "tole painting" way back in the 1970's-1980's...so I approached her and asked if she would be interested in painting a tree for me. I shared the story with her. She was quite touched and happy to do so. I bought a wooden oval plaque, with bark at Michael's...like this one and gave it to her. She painted a beautiful lil tree for me, included the words "The Trouble Tree" and if I recall, a tiny sheep (am I right Acey?). It was charming and hung for a long time in the Apricot tree. 🙂

Eventually I passed it on to Acey and it lived with her and her family for some time and has now moved on to Northern Vermont with a friend of hers (and her family)!! Isn't this just the best?! This kind of sharing, storytelling and community connecting & building so speaks to me.

Thank you Acey for sharing and being a part of my world.

TREE POST

In a previous episode of Patio Lives, I had just added the heavy, large bolt to the dye pot. Having been recently reminded that the full pot is all still out there, I retrieved the soaking bundles and the larger piece, which was left unbound. They were left in the sun to dry up a bit. Stay tuned to discover what magic this cloth holds. They may look like 'mummies' or 'drumsticks' now, but what they reveal may surprise you!

   ~SPOILER ALERT! ~

If you are a WORDLE fan, you can stop here. The following photo is from our game on Wednesday 7/5/2023.

We are still doing Team WORDLE each night (thanks Dee!). It has become a very fun Tradition, filled with laughter, routines and high five's!

I always do the "read off" after we solve it...considering the progression from beginning to the solution. Tonight I read with pizzazz, reading each word with the emotion they called for...even snapping my fingers for 'tempo'. After, J. commented that it's funny how we get from one place to another. Then I noticed that tonight we kinda came full circle, as I know an animal with venom would put some fear in me!  So silly. 🙃

May you give of yourself in ways that feel grand

May you receive just as much from that giving

May you feel grateful for time together

xo

Photos by NAE @pomegranatetrail ©2023