May 17, 2026: 4 young men in the riverbed, making some sort of film. Cameras, a circular screen to reflect the light, tripods...equipment. Commanding shouts ring out. The "actor" in the white shirt and baggy pants digs in the sand, tossing shovelful after shovelful over his shoulder. When directed, he moves to multiple spots on the sand or in the water and digs some more. I try to imagine what this film could be about?
What If Uncertainty Is the Practice: Pema Chödrön on Groundlessness
May 18, 2026: Brush fire in a nearby valley. Phone alerts take turns sounding the alarm. Evacuations and grave concern in the fire zone. The Sandy Fire. Later, another valley nearby, another fire...small 106 acres, 'forward progressed stopped' fairly quickly. sigh.
Two ducks stand placidly on the sandbar, and later in the water. Side-by-side, they stand, ruffling their feathers, pecking at their feathers - but standing in one place. A first time seeing ducks at the river.
The wind was fierce, causing the power lines and poles themselves to sing loudly. Smoke over the mountains, clouds sneaking over the mountains on the other side. I noticed the scalloped edge on the repainted bike path lines. How many times have I walked by these lines and not seen the scallop?
✴️ I began reading the book, The Correspondent by Virginia Evans and am enjoying it so far. I really like the format, as I have written a lot of letters in my lifetime. ✓Trigger warning: Very early into the book, the death of her child becomes known. The story is still unraveling, so I don't know any more than that at this point. At any rate, so far, so good.
Thursday I couldn't believe how green and beautiful the hills looked. We could again walk at city park and did. On this day, I was able to go the short distance to the bridge there, where we discovered that the swallows are indeed back now! There were SO MANY and they were SO BUSY!! Almost every small mud nest had a little face poking out, while the others in the community were rapidly coming and going. We could not tell if those were babies waiting in the nests, only that the others would fly in to the front of a nest and then fly off again. The sheer volume of little chirping birdsong was something! Some of the nests looked a little worse for wear since last year, but most were in pretty good shape. If repairs were needed, there was water and mud in the wash, ready for use.
Bach - Trio Sonata from The Musical Offering BWV 1079 | Netherlands Bach Society
I have gotten back to my rereading of "Theo of Golden". All four musical offerings here are from my rereading. I've enjoyed listening 'new to me' music, except "Summertime", which I already knew. I was looking forward to getting to the musical references in the book, so I could explore them. It was well worth it. I believe I may get to hear others, before the book ends.
As I did when I started this rereading adventure, I've also been looking up unfamiliar words, locations, people and so on. It has been interesting and fills in some of the ideas of the story.
One of the things I was reading about is the Morpho Butterflies, as they are spoken about in Theo of Golden. They are gorgeous. Every time we see any kind of butterfly on our walks, it lifts the spirit!
Lastly, the rereading of this book has given me a lot to consider as I am seeing it through new eyes, even after reading it such a short time ago. The first time I read it was through the lens of primarily: connection and kindness. It was read from an emotional standpoint, from my gut. This time around I am seeing things in the story that I washed right over in the first read. Maybe I'll talk about that more later.
Miklós Rózsa Toccata Capricciosa, Op.36 for solo cello
We haven't really seen any red-winged blackbirds so far, but I did spy this bird in the tree. I am grateful whenever I get out in nature, whatever that looks like.
Who would have guessed that I would be listening to this piece of music from Portugal! haha I guess I can say that reading Theo of Golden in this way, I have certainly expanded my horizons - at least momentarily!
Hino Nacional de Portugal - A Portuguesa (versão completa/com letra)
The past few days have been spent with the Pink Glue Book. I am not really a pink girl at all and I thought this book would be one of the hard ones to find images for...but I was wrong! I've found a lot of pink. Here is a sample below. I've done others since I started this draft, but I'll save those. I've also begun adding words to the pages seen here. What words do you think I found to add to each spread? What story does the image say to you? I've also covered the front & back covers, both inside and out. I like it like this and plan to try it with the other colors too.
Our weekly jaunt up the canyon did not disappoint. It never, ever does. The scents, sights and vibe are so...right. I saw a pink thistle that escaped being photographed. But, the ones below stood out so much, how could I not snap a pic. There was a lot of purple-flowered sage and many scrub jays along the way. There's always something familiar (thus comforting) and something new to see on this short drive. I treasure it each time we go.
I am continuing the tradition of lighting the white ("health & caring") and the green ("money") candles each afternoon. They stay lit through to bedtime, reminding me of those important to me or a silliness that began decades ago with the lighting of money candles. One refreshing and hope-filled , and the other silly, but wishful. Their light brings me calmness and joy.
When do you like to revisit things?
May you learn something new, even from something old
May you never fail to appreciate the goodness around you
May you care for yourself and others in the best ways you know how
I've pulled out more of my old classroom books in preparation for my next mailing. These few books include two siblings, both of whom were in my class, at separate times. I keep in contact with this family and mom said she'd love to have them as mementos for her children! Yay! I keep working on finding appropriate homes for these kinds of things. I look forward to writing their memory letter to go with the books.
This reminds me about how much I love mailing off goodies to friends and family. Every month, I am still mailing postcards from our old collection to the little grands. Last month, I came out of the post office saying how much joy and pleasure these mailings give me. Me. I did not mean just the fact of sending them something, I meant actually opening the flip-door and dropping the postcards in...because in that moment, I am the child again. I can well remember the joy of little me getting letters/gifts in the mail. The surprise of that. The curiosity of that - what is inside? The feelings of fun and being cared about. I'm so lucky I get to provide some of those feelings for others.
This Disabled Sheep Drives Her Own Wheelchair | The Dodo
Inside-out, Outside-in: Today we went off to the VA. It was rather early and super, super foggy. The top photo shows the view from the second floor. Normally, one can see far across the whole Valley - seeing the mountains rim the other side. Unfortunately there was no way to get the fog without the reflections in the window, but you get the idea. Inside on the first floor, there are live trees! There are many windows and skylights, which is how this works I guess. But, I'm always a little surprised when they drop their leaves. They seem like they should be artificial trees, but are not. Surprising.
Today I noticed a small, 8X10? plaque on the sub waiting area wall. A large wall, empty for this one photo plaque. I got up and walked over to read it. A memorial for a doctor, who dies at about 40 years old. It was brief, but lovingly written in appreciation her skills and traits as a doctor and as a human being. It mentioned things she enjoyed doing in her free time. It struck me as such a nice thing for a huge, bureaucratic workplace to do, while still standing, physically, as such a small comment on a whole life lived. Left me thinking.
Also, we walked in from a different side of the parking lot today, so we saw the memorial plaque. Another surprise. I had never seen this in all of these years!
As an observer of people, it's always an interesting adventure. Everyone who works there, from the security, the staff, the techs, and doctors are so nice. That makes it an oddly uplifting visit.
When I got home, I found an AARP magazine on the free pantry shelf in the mail room. Yay! Something more to cut up! This pic of Rod Stewart was perfect timing, since when we pulled out of the VA parking lot...we saw someone who looked JUST LIKE him in the clothing choice! The stranger's outfit was silver and black leopard print...but, same print short boots like Rod's! haha
I'm still in the thick of cutting and gluing. My green book is still the furtherest along, but the brown, blue, and pink are getting attention too. My plan continues to be to make red, orange, yellow, green, blue (and indigo) and purple...along with black and white (maybe gray and sepia too), brown and pink books. I was happy when I found the pig in the magazine today. 🐷
I will also be making a "rainbow" book. I've started collecting for that too. I'll share that next time, as it involves more story and I need a nap!
How do you make art? How do you memorialize someone? How do you embrace the weather or peoples of the world?
Don't ya love this story...and the connection to Theo of Golden?! I've been watching so many art making videos, but I'm trying to hold off starting anything new, while I work on things I've got going.
Today was a Post Office day. I mailed off some books and other gifts and goodies. I'm super excited to share these items. I sent the book created with the Kindergarten group and those created with the Infant & Toddler classroom, along with a couple of others. I'm so happy to share the books and their stories with my grandchildren. One of the books I sent is seen below. I've had this book since college. I loved it so much at the time. I thought the theme was strong, the illustrations amazing and the lessons valid. Of course, in 2026 I would be including conversations regarding labels, kindness and problem solving through collaboration. At 18 years old, I didn't think quite that deep about it. I still think it has the potential to be a meaningful addition to growth and learning during current times.
In reading it again (I always reread every book I send their way!), I read the back jacket flap and was curious about the author's other book. I easily found this reading of it to share here. Still timely as well. It really makes one wonder when humans will ever learn?!!
Dinosaurs and all that rubbish | Full Story | Bedtime Stories
The last Medicine Bag is in the mail and I've prepped a basket with selections for the next one. It is hard to put into words how much I love this part of the process. I sat on my bed with all of my yarns spread out around me. Thinking about the recipient for this weaving...thinking about the yarn colors and how they look side-by-side and the meaning for each color chosen. Some of these may not end up in the Medicine Bag, but it is the process that thrills me, including thinking about this particular person and weaving with love and care.
How have your impressions about certain books changed? Stayed the same?
May we encourage others, and ourselves, to be the somebody we were meant to be...however that may appear to the outside world, may we just be and fight for everyone to have that ability as well.
She wanted everyone to read, so she opened a library that never closes (1983)
Between the thrashing of the rain and the brilliance of a sky opened up by holding more, bigger clouds than the mind can imagine.
Can you see the rain? Yeah, probably not, but just know that it was pouring!
33° tonight, more rain tomorrow.
We jokingly called it 'the big muddy' today. Well, at least in our little corner of the world it is!
The river has grown wider again after the rain. It was muddy and very fast moving. Beautiful.
Ripples and clouds bursting from the sky, their beauty...stunning.
"To be surprised, to wonder, is to begin to understand" ~Jose Ortega y Gasset
Stark, big...dramatic.
"Dwell as near as possible to the channel in which your life flows" ~ Henry David Thoreau
Somewhere in the muddy flow was a long, maybe 4 feet long, stick, which I threw like a spear and raced to the other side to see it rolling on the river! Success! There it went, pat the fallen tree, through the ripple-bumps, that reminded me of an ancient dinosaur spine. Rushing, rushing towards the sea.
"No matter how full the river, it still wants to grow" ~African Proverb
After my trail marking with the Spear Stick I later propelled into the river...I next played with Stick Splashes. Oh, how fun! Here J. handled the splashing, while I snapped a photo. 🙂
The oaks think its Spring. We are expecting more green and maybe a Supper Bloom this year.
While rereading Theo of Golden, pink pen for notations by my side...I pause as my own memories of those I've known come wandering in as a parade of characters from a lifetime of years gone by.
My elongated pause has me silently drifting, thinking of a small array of people from my past. A variety of relationships...long term or brief moments in time...only in passing or in deep, deep connection. Relationships from family to workplace to professional workshops to people I called friends...all but in only my memories now.
Today gray skies, subtle shifts in tone, not void of color entirely, but through the day a wash of bland, muted gray takes over. In comparison to to the illumination of the sky last evening, where the pinks, blues, and purples morphed into deep indigo. The Witches Hair glowing in the last light of day.
Yet, today the sky, a milky solid gray, water pours down, slapping against the windowpane - demanding to come in and rattling the frame in its frantic request.
As I wrap up the on and off writing of this post, the sky begins to clear, enormous bulbous white clouds arrive and boldly present themselves, even if only for a few minutes before the gray washes over them again. The reciprocal conversation between the sky clouds may continue for some time, until the quiet of dusk or the drum of the rain, calls no winner, but just settles things down, either in quiet or steady sound. Peaceful.
Fado: Discover Traditional Portuguese Music | Portugal | Viking
