A New Year ~ 2019

                                            

Marvin Gaye - What's Going On         

⃔⃕⦽ 

It is another New Year and I, like many,

have so many mixed feelings.

A new start versus Just going

Hope versus sameness

Plans versus attempting not to plan 

Dreams versus muddiness

Ya know, the usual.

It is kind of funny to me how we are so willing to step into the 'newness' of it,

with wishes, intentions and glimmers of some Divine Magic.

Then a few months, days or even hours in, we discover that 

we are we.

Change may come, but it comes slow and when it wants to.

Or when it is time.

Or whatever you believe.

And in the end, we carry on however we do.

⥹

 We heal.  We become ill or sad.  We become well again.

And so on.

Really, to expect anything different is just not reasonable.

⥻

So this year's beginning, I just plan to move forward 

and discover how that looks and feels.

No pressure, no big plans.

Recent sunset (not the turn of the year though)

2018 began with that quite unpleasant eye surgery.

Ugh!  What a memory!

I'm grateful to report that the eye remains well at this time.

Phew! 

2018 ended with with some equally unpleasant, 

rather traumatic family events.

In between, there was life.

Fun, mundane, exciting, plain

Deep, shallow,

regular and extra special.

Life.

Overall, I am glad for a new year though.

I feel like I always am ready to turn the calendar page. ☺

Doctor's office screen portal

  ⥴

Tomorrow is another commuting day.

I am still hanging in observation of the goings on of #somefolks as I drive.

I saw this last week or so and had to record it:

 "19 motionless motor homes

in less than 

5 city blocks

A few with trailers filled with: what looks like trash

One trailer with 

Christmas Lights

I ponder the use of limited energy on decorative lights

Today a few police and

other specific enforcement vechicles

A few trash trucks and

a port-a-potty on its trailer

...all pulled up next to a collection of these homes

These homes

I ponder what will I

see on my way home tonight?

What am I witnessing?"

⥳

Happy New year to the many, many, many #somefolks,

may their 2019 be better than bearable.

May their New Year hold it's own kind of magic.

 ⥀ 

Michelle in NYC shared this link with me.

Timely.

You may like it too.

 ⥁

Winter feet

 So, here we go, off to another year.

A time of more and of gratitude for what with have.

A time to reach and a time to settle in.

A time to share and a time to receive.

A time to be.

The long view

May 2019 be for you as well.

xo

Photographs by NAE ©2018/2019 

On the Cusp

...of the Solstice...and only feeling mostly better after an unwelcomed flu bug...

Sometimes one needs only look up...

Look up with me, won't you...

 

“We clasp the hands of those that go before us, and the hands of those who come after us. We enter the little circle of each other's arms And the larger circle of lovers, Whose hands are joined in a dance, And the larger circle of all creatures, Passing in and out of life,

Who move also in a dance, To a music so subtle and vast that no ear hears it

Except in fragments”

-Wendell Berry

 

If there is radiance in the soul
it will abound in the family.
If there is radiance in the family
it will be abundant in the community
If there is radiance in the community
it will grow in the nation
If there is radiance in the nation
the universe will flourish.
-Lao Tsu

 

When words become unclear,

I shall focus with photographs.

When images become inadequate,

I shall be content with silence.

~Ansel Adams~

These photos are a few weeks old now, it actually rained today.  Perhaps the beginning of El Nino we keep hearing about?

 Contrails in the clouds...

 

Let us take care of the children

For they have a long way to go.

Let us take care of the elders

For they have come a long way.

And let us take care

of the ones in between

For they are doing the work.

-Nelson Mandela

 

May you find quiet moments to reflect as we welcome in the light.

May the coming days of more light hold you well in peace and love.

~Nancy 

Photos by NAE @pomegranatetrail ©2015

Journey On

It's Christmas Night here.  It's not a holiday I really celebrate, anymore.  When I was married...when my children were young...when my parents were here...

things were celebrated differently back then.

Currently, a movie and Chinese food worked just fine for the two of us.

I've had these photos to share since September.

That was the month I was so sick and so I never got to them.

I thought about just letting them go, as they are really only important to me.

Do I need to post all of these personal stories?

I don't know.

But, I thought since I am now into the end of the year reflection, as I'm prone to do...

well, I thought they'd be a good representation of my feelings as I close out the year of 2013.

They are a good metaphor for letting go or for saying good-bye 

or for life's losses...and gains.

They symbolize memories and gratitude and community and giving.

And they speak of stuff.  Material possessions.

This childhood Thumbelina doll joined a few other favorite items 

and journeyed off to a new home this year.

I loved her as only a young child can.

Now she has a new lifetime of adventures waiting for her in the arms 

of a precious two year old.

I have spent a lot of time letting go of personal belongings this year.

Things that had no meaning to me, no ties to my heartstrings were sold or donated.

But the most special items were gifted to dear ones.

Thumbelina wears her jamies from the 1960's and the sweet scent of my cedar chest that she has resided in for years.

She climbed into a box with the beautiful white quilt I've shared with you all before, a couple of favorite books, another doll and
beloved corduroy overalls that my daughter once wore.

Sent with love to a sweet mama, whom I've known since she was 7 years old.

With a photo session, hugs and a kiss she was sent on her way.

I lost loved ones this year.  A couple of favorite elders.

I celebrated them and honored them.
I miss them.

I bore witness to others' losses, which through my empathetic heart...

touched me deeply.

I embraced life, both the losses and the gains.

I welcomed new lives.

Rejoiced in them and look forward to more new arrivals!

And I worked to keep my focus in the here and now.

In the present.

Enjoying those I am with...when I am with them.
Celebrating them.  Honoring them.
Embracing them.

This guy also moved out.

Piglet who joined me in approximately 1977 found a new home 

with some other Disney buddies.

He also took his sweet cedar smell and journeyed on.

With a last hug and a pose for the camera, 

Piglet will now reside where many more can appreciate him.

In the sense of material possessions,

it feels very good to have all of these items find new homes 

where they can be loved, appreciated, shared and get a new lease on life.

At least that is the spirit in which they were given.

Now I look forward to a new year.
New plans.
New ideas.
New intentions.

In this last week of the year, I'll be taking time to reflect and cherish.
I'll be joining you all as we embrace just going into 2014.
 ~With Love, Nancy

Photos by NAE @pomegranatetrail ©2013

Sunday Hike with a Warning

WARNING:  Today's Sunday Hike did not capture the natural beauty I usually desire.  Today's hike was near a bustling freeway at an old deserted oil refinery.  I've hiked there once before and didn't expect to return.  It was in the Hope post.  We didn't pass by that wall today.
But there was a view he wanted to show me, so off we went...

It's an old broken down paved road that leads the way in.

A giant mountain 'knob' (I call it) across the freeway.

I again notice the many locks in waiting.

This is beginning to really fascinate me and bring up questions.

Why so many locks?

Do they ever get used, say at nightfall?

This time I initially saw less Hope.

I saw desolation and destruction and debris left by man.

There was road trash from the highway. There was rusty stuff and off the road, an informal Paintball area (complete with forts to hide behind and piles of paintball trash left behind)

I saw some of what was left behind.

Left where they fell...and some stacked, by who?

I saw pasts that led to drop-offs and ruins.

I saw steps to nowhere

What once was lives on in this grand entrance to empty

This site had been cleaned up since our last visit, 

but there was still much left behind.

And it was dry, very dry.

The highway had light traffic...but it was still loud!

However, the sky was bright and I spied wildflowers sprinkled here and there.

And there were gates to go with the locks.

Gates easily walked around.

Gates created to be walked right through.

I wondered how much good they really do.

Gates with an army of locks, tucked in their 

Lock storage...Locker!

This hike left me wondering about coming and going...

about past and present...

about finding beauty where at first you do not see any.

And yes, I wondered if Hope was still there.

Upon arriving home, I discovered a 

rather battered crow feather right outside the front door.

This felt like a symbolic find for me today, 

so I placed it in the log near the door.

I know I'll be grateful to see it as I come and go.

Photos by NAE @pomegranatetrail ©2013

~Note: In creating the link for the Hope post, I of course reread the post & comments and it was just what I needed tonight!  Finding Hope is always helpful.
~Also, when I got home my neighbor called me to ask if I knew who ruthlessly 'pruned' her pepper trees.  She planted them after the removal of the 5 trees I mentioned in the Hope post.  Odd coincidence.

Before & After #3

Before & After #3: Story in cloth

BEFORE

Fabric is true White-White, bad lighting gives the yellowed tint.

This is the white fabric I mentioned.  

I found it neatly put away in a Zip-lock bag, the remnants of an earlier project with young children.  I have no recall of what that project was, nor do I recall what medium was used to paint the smaller squares.  Therefore, I have no idea what will happen to it when I wash it.

However, I could care less!

So, this white and lightly colored fabric (cotton) became an experience in just doing.  Maybe not as much What Ifing as just going!

There were 4 white blocks and a stack of small white with color applied squares.

Work with what you have Nancy.

Don't over-think it...just stitch.

AFTER

First sewn block.  Small colored one centered on larger White one.

Glue stitch, a square and an X.

Second white block sewn.  A 9 patch.

I merely cut up the smaller squares to create the 9 patch.  

I did not look at placement according to color.  I just randomly pinned them down.

No over-thinking = no stress!

Third block visits the desert!  I finished this one on our road trip.

One little square, 5 smaller squares.  Again, cut & randomly placed.

No worries about the coloration and how one square fades into another.

Just sewn.

Doesn't it blend nicely with the desert sunset?!

While waiting for the night sky, I had some fun with these three blocks.  Pinned together, they hung against the twilight sky.  They shone in the dark.  They waved in the breeze.

The next day, while visiting the Santa Ysabel General Store, I spied an amazing spool (10.5 yards) of velvet trim.  I had to have it!

There were several color choices, which were all appealing, but I chose the dusty green.  It looks more grayish in the pictures, but it's green.  It came on a beautiful wooden spool that smells like cedar!!

I was not sure what I'd do with it, but I kept the spirit of no plan-going in mind.

By the next day, block number 4 was complete.

4 smaller squares, spaced out and stitched.

Again, no color planning.

I didn't even look too carefully at the spacing.

Just pinned and sewed.

Can you see the California Yucca plant to the left of the cloth, right under my arm?

They were blooming and expired like crazy...all over the place!

AFTER-AFTER

I cut and placed 4 snippets of the velvet trim in the middle of each smaller square.

No big meaning, just wanted to use it.

4 little dusty green rectangles.

I had wanted the stitches to hold it on to hide, by using a matching color of floss, but I didn't have one with me.  Then I thought of using an earthy color.

But...when I picked up a needle to use, it had a bit of magenta-pink on it.

It looked so nice against the green.  So spring-like.

As I stitched with it on the drive home, we passed a wildflower that was the perfect match for this pink!!  How's that for confirmation of choice?!  Ha!

I wasn't too sure if I liked the look of the trim once sewn.

It is so much darker and heavier.

But in the spirit of random doing, I'm leaving it.

I'm even adding some to the other 3 blocks.

That's the all the plans I have so far: Sew on trim.

I don't know what I will do with the 4 blocks past that.

No over-thinking allowed.

Place, pin & stitch!

That's enough.

Photos by NAE @pomegranatetrail ©2013