Higher Ground | Playing For Change | Song Around the World

Things keep turning.

High, horrible, awful death toll today.

It makes me sad and scared.

The news and It in the big house makes me so mad, so darn angry.

Unlike dear Hazel, I'm good at letting those words fly.

3-21-20 in a 

Politico article...DOJ wants to have power to pause, hold, postpone

any, all, some...whatever court cases due to this emergency...any emergency ever.

IT wants to close, closesCA boarders that he couldn't get away with closing prior.

Excuses

Grabs for power.

BS

This map

             

I'm here. Not in the best mood.

But, here.

So I looked for relatable music.

I liked this one today.

The way the instruments layer together.

I just realized that part of what I like about PFC videos

is the spotlight on each player.

I'm not great at hearing them when they are mushed together as a whole.

Anyway, that's really all I've got.

Some news, some music and some hope.

PS I taught myself how to screenshot that map. Something I've never needed to do, what with my 'dumb phone' and all. 

May you find something to feel better about

May you find something to learn

May you find some hope to hold on to

xo

Okaïdi & Playing For Change 2014 : "Don't Worry, Be Happy"

       ,

A song for these days

A song for all days, yes?

I remember when this song came out,

it was treated as such fluff.

At the time, I kept saying that there must be

Some Reason that it was so popular,

that the people must need the song!

A long time, a really long time later,

I learned the not-so-secret info that

All I had been listening to had even created with

Just his own voice!!

My love and appreciation really grew!

Can you imagine?

↔

The other part of this song for me is the link to my daughter,
when she was six.  She adored this song, begged to stay up to watch the awards show
and was so thrilled when he won!
She used to sing-along to her beloved cassette tape,
mimicking his voice perfectly.
I can hear her now.
Sigh.

I spoke about some of this here
so long ago now!

↔

The other part of this day is thinking about some things that Marti and Liz
have said and done and posted recently.
They made the book I was reading pop back into my head.
One of the chapters was about dreaming and dream catchers.
This made me focus in a deeper way as
I have not been falling/staying asleep as easily these days.
Go figure.
I wondered if I had materials at hand and enough skill to make a dream catcher myself.
If so, I could give it to my son and his wife, who are expecting a baby in June.
Mmmm...
I so love the little drawing in this book.

↔

I do have my own dream catcher that J. gave me years ago,
so I have one to model it on...
and there is always lessons on you tube I bet!
↔

↔

Anyway...
May you find ways to be happy
May you finds ways to share happy
May you find ways to hold on to some happy for yourself 
xo

Photographs by NAE ©2020

PS Please excuse the iPad photos! Yuc!

Little Things Mean A Lot

I'm finding it interesting how folks react to

being at home

What folks find to do, how they feel...

you know.

Personally, I like being home and find things to

not only keep me busy, 

but to entertain, teach, comfort, connect and remind me

of who I am, what and who I love

and just how special our world is.

It is breezy here today, which is mostly lovely,

but hard on my asthma.

I experimented with taking a little video on the ipad from the porch.

Please excuse my lack of skill and raspy breathing!

I hope it plays and has sound.

We have the most beautiful songbirds, many crows and sometimes

a hawk!

If this works, I'll try to capture some of that.

Yesterday I noticed it was Huell Howser time on our local PBS station.
As I sat watching him explore old barns in Oxnard, CA...
I thought well now, I've don't recall posting a Huell video here!
I may have, but I don't recall.

Did I post the very old photo from when I met him for a brief moment?
A brief moment to capture a photograph and create a lifelong memory

Anyway, instead of the barn segment I was watching,
I thought I'd share an old favorite about the "Lint Lady",
so I searched and found the one below. What was amazing was,
I had only seen and remembered the first portion shown, the original episode.
Here though, in this follow-up video, filmed some 20 years later,
the story goes deeper and becomes so much more real,
more nuanced, important and human.
What a remembered as a short bit on a quirky artitst
is really so much more.

It led me to think, isn't that the truth about all of us?
Aren't we discovering our own deeper stories as
we shelter at home, allowing so much more time for an inner life?
This video is a longer that the songs I've been sharing,
but well worth it in my opinion.
We have the time for more than a two minute sound bite, right?
I know I do.

  

May we find new within the old
May we find ourselves within the whole
May we shine!
xo

Stay Safe ~ Wash Your hands

Photographs/videos by NAE ©2020

One Full Week Home

    

James Corden and Tom Hanks Act Out Tom's Filmography

I spent a lot of time recently looking for laughter.

I found this one and many others.

Ellen doing generational bits, 

a funny guy doing TEDX bits on answering spam email

and a few of these James Corden career bits

Tom Hanks is one of my favorite actors for the pure reason 

that he becomes who is portraying.

No typecasting for him

He is everyone and anyone!

Such skills!

When you are following the stay safe at home orders...

you have time to finally roll up that new yarn.

You can communicate with friends, family and co-workers by phone.

When you have time, you can eat sunflower seeds like you did when you were

a kid, but don't eat really nowadays

 When you are working from home, well, you work by

watching a dozen video trainings, reading articles

re-reading policy, participating in conference calls

and watching assigned TED TALKS.

 I later added a title (label) on my work composition book:

"Pandemic School"

Today I finally got out for a walk with J.

It finally stopped raining

I finally got my act together and took a 20 minute walk

Yay!

It was beautiful, so of course I came here to share.

 We passed a few other walkers, at a safe distance of course.

The clouds and blue skies were spirit lifting.

 J. being silly with a neighboring Century plant!

Liz used this plant in her recent Tarot Card :)

So big!

 The long view, up the street, rain on the way?

 A gorgeous red-trunked tree.

Anyone know what this beauty is?

 Layers of beauty

 Me in the field of mint

and a gentle giant

Meanwhile, back at the ranch (or the senior building),

Activities have been cancelled,
so no BINGO,
no Donuts and Discussion,

no shuttle service to the grocery store
(How will the elders get their food?)
no extra service done on our units
communicate by email, the office sits empty
and the community room is closed,
so you can't host a party, use the shared computer, play a game of pool,
 watch the big TV or choose a book off the shelf.

sigh

My packages sit here, un-mailed

Stay at home
Wash your hands
Take care of yourself and your loved ones

May you find things you like to do,
have friends who spur you on 
and ways to stay healthy AND happy!
xo

PS Thanks to Cam and Dee who encouraged me to take a walk

Carry on as you seek and find some beauty in the storm

Photographs by NAE ©2020

Gimme Shelter | Playing For Change | Song Around The World

    

Today it is this.

Shelter from this storm

Shelter for those lacking Shelter 

Shelter for those of us ODing on Shelter

Shelter for each other - support as Shelter 

Shelter for two new kids

Shelter for us all

Shelter 

May you have all you need during this time of Shelter 

May we all have what we need

Take care

xo

Today the light was right when I glanced out 

and saw all of the blooms!

Wow!

Now I know why my eyes are itching like crazy.

Today the gardeners were here,

Weed whacking the narrow passage way back here.

Usually I'm at work, so I don't have to suffer with 

the strong, moist scent.

I felt grateful they are able to be working.

Off to watch Princess Bride.

Carry on....

xo

Back Home Again

                                       

John Denver - Back Home Again (Official Audio)

I am home

Working from home

and with my asthma,

I am home for the long haul.

J. is our shopper, even if older

Today was a relaxation day

before the 'work from home' part starts

I was not inspire to clean, organize, work on projects

and so on

So I didn't

I did send some emails

and communicate by phone

but not much else

View

 Over 4200 new cases in 24 hours in Italy 

Damn

Our plants love it here

The bamboo has grown like crazy

LA County 598 confirmed cases

So far no known cases among the vast unhomed population,

but that up to 50% could be infected

Damn

 J.'s lil cactus plant has gone nuts

So many tiny red buds

Each one a vote for beauty

and hope for the future, 

when these days have passed

 

The big cactus collage is happy as can be!

Bright and prickly in the afternoon sun

I wonder about the sanity of all those beach goers

Like this is one big vacation!

How do their actions and the actions of others equally selfish and dumb,

how do they affect us, those of us trying to be smart and do the right thing?

Very early this am, J. went to the grocery store during the "senior hour"

The store let all ages and states of health or ability in at the same time

One person's cart was filled with paper towels (I hope they didn't let that whole filled cart get purchased by one person or perhaps they were donating somewhere? wishful thinking).

He also say someone pushing two carts at once (let's hope they are shopping for other family members).

However open-minded or hopeful I may sound, I'm not buying it.

Our stores are packed and empty.

Period.

 

 Mr. Turtle sits in the sun, knowing when to "stick his head out and when to pull it back in again" as so beautifully told by Frank Asch in "Turtle Tale"

I cropped this photo, so trust me when I say we were practicing "social distancing"!

 My extra large 'wishing rock' rests quietly, 

gathering any good energy that floats by

(As first learned about in the book

"If You Find a Rock")

My wish for all of you is that

may you all move through this time

with the most ease possible.

May you take care of yourself and those you love

May you continue

xo

 

Photographs by NAE ©2020

Do you feel like we do?

                     

 It was a You Tube kind of Sunday,
started by the Spirit comment from Liz and
me saying to J. the title of this song.
That led to a trip down memory lane.
I hadn't heard this song in years,
which felt like yesterday!
I saw Frampton, more than once or twice
and wore this album (which I still have) out!
I remember when he started in with the talk box...
it was so different, so new, so fun!
I just so love the music of my era!

May we all hold fond memories of how we've 
traveled so far.
May those memories hold us well. 
xo
 

These Times

Well, here we are

All of us

together, apart

Here we are.

in these times of unknown

of worry

of fear

Together, yet alone as well

Looking for answers, for beauty

Moon over parking lot

Bubble moon

Beautiful moon

 Conversations with dear friends

on the phone

online

through emails

finding connections

Zoomed in to photograph crow

Zoomed back out

 The size of our worlds

shrinking

The bigger world

concerning

What do you do when you're home

a lot?

What do you do when you're searching?

What do you do when you're staying put?

Or not?

Mmm...I guess they're out of toilet paper, even though the signs are posted telling folks to share!

Empty carts, sitting near the emptied shelves. Poetic.

 What do you do when you're empty?

"Make me a bird, let me fly far, far away"

They're there, can you see?

Ah, there you are!

Social distancing

Or not. Kissing instead

 

How do you find that balance between what you need,

what is available to you,

and what you have?

From connection to toilet paper,

"...ya can't always get what you want,

but you'll find sometime

you get what you need"

May you have what you need,

in so many ways.

Love to all of you moving through this time.

Take care.

And wash your hands!

xo

Photographs by NAE ©2020

R.L. Burnside: See My Jumper Hanging On the Line (1978)

                                                              

 MORE MUSIC!
Another evening at You Tube discovery.
We're also still stuck on "Ain't No Man"
 

My plan was to experiment and keep weaving,

even if the warp threads had too much stretch to stay tight.

Scribbled notes, previously mentioned.

Discovered a "lemon plum"

Very. very slight lemon flavor, nice texture

Nothing to write home about

 Commuters sky!

Some days it is magical and saves me.

Just look at that!

Two days, so different!

 Little Rocket Apple, with a stellar skin pattern!

 When you give up.

I could write at length about that,

but today it is the weaving that wouldn't be!

I just carefully kept weaving on the wobbly warp,

but it was not to be.

If you look closely at the bottom pic,

you'll notice the farthest left warp thread is about to break.

I figured it was time to throw in the towel, or loom

because if that warp thread broke, even when I was all done...

it would just be useless.

I'm still deciding what to do with the failure fibers.

And I began again,

crisp, white and tight!

It is interesting to see them side-by-side, 

seeing how my fiber choices make such different looks.

 We discovered these teeny, multi-colored tomatoes.

They are delicious!

Nice in a salad or as lunchtime finger food

May you have many discoveries, much music,

beautiful skies

and ways to see past failures 

xo 

Photographs by NAE ©2020