The Blog: Spellbound by our own imperfect lives...

Storage tubs are the spawn of the devil. At least for me they are. I fill them with stuff I never use and then they disappear into the morass...never to be seen again. Or at least not to be seen for a long, long time. This is a pile of storage tubs that I cleaned out and delivered to my friend, Mary. She has a weekend home and wants them to keep mice out of her stuff. Good luck with that. I'm happy to be rid of them. I am happy to report that I am approaching the conclusion of my cleaning and sorting binge. I'm tired to doing it and I'm tired of thinking about it. I was walking around the house with a dust rag, cleaning bookshelves at 9 o'clock last night. Then again this morning. The two big shelves we have are done. Ta da! The mess has been localized. Instead of being spread over the whole house, it's in the dining room and on the dining table. Manageable. I will finish it up today. Of course, there are other parts. The front closet needs a paint job and ...

Dear Reader, Last night I posted something on my blog that was meant for another blog. I do that sometimes…cut, paste, copy bits of this and that from place to place because I am a prolific spouter of information and it can’t all be spontaneous and wonderful. I realized it this morning and took it off the place it was and put it on the place it should have been. It started me thinking. I meant to write my annual note about my poetic license anyway so I will combine the two cautionary tales. If you have ever thought as you read something here, that I tell too much or over-share as they call it, I would suggest that you, dear reader, over-read. I am going to write what I write so if anything makes you cringe or weep or wring your hands in despair, stop reading. It’s simple. Also, I do have a poetic license. It comes in the mail with my driver’s license and it says I do not always have to write the truth. I do not have to label my untruths or half-truths as such. I am only obligated to...

It is spectacular here. There are no other words. I was driving down 169 today and was staring dumbly (as opposed to awe-struck) by the colors, when I saw a flicker of white, then another. It was a bald eagle, drifting on the air waves above the car. A miracle, no matter how many time you witness it. I have a sleep disorder so call to make an appointment. They can't get me in until February. I ask if it would help if I called and acted as cranky as I get when I don't sleep so they knew I was serious. Nah...not really. Apparently sleep apnia is big right now. Big like People magazine. What did people do in the Dark Ages, Mary Powers? Cover their eyes? Beautiful deep woods on French Hill today. My idea of an autumn photo shoot is a leisurely drive to a spot, an ambling walk, a couple dozen photos. My husband, Philly Dad, has a different idea. We drive like insane people in rush hour traffic from spot to spot, idle the car in traffic, shoot pictures out the window as he ...

I have been crazy busy. Crazy busy but wonderfully crazy busy. Last night I went to dinner with two women friends. We had a great meal, lots of laughter, story telling, sharing, fun. Then we went to a magic and comedy show where we did lots of good old belly laughing until you cry and shake. When we came out, the almost full moon was rising over the Minnesota River. It took my breath away. It was magic magic magic... in more ways than one. I have been working a few days a week. It's good money and I enjoy the kids...and best of all...I don't have to give a big rat's ass about the politics. Wahoo! I realized yesterday though, that I have apparently agreed to work three days this week which seems excessive. I might take November off...just to get caught up, you know. I have been baking bread which seems like a very healing thing for me and a way to reach out to people who need me right now. A lovely couple in town who I only know through acquaintances have both been diagn...

Gus is very particular about his balls. If Regis opens the trunk of the car to take one on a walk, he will get up and nose around to make sure it is the right ball. When they walk by the hospital, Gus loves to run into the meadow and drop his ball into one of the mounds made by whatever burrowing creatures lurk there. It's usually not a big deal because the hole isn't deep and Gus can retrieve it or Regis can snatch it with the ball toss thing. Not so the other day. Gus drops the ball into the hole, Regis tries to snag it, the hole is too deep...no ball. Gus in inconsolable. He won't leave the ball behind. Regis tries to walk on but Gus keeps running back to dig at the hole to retrieve his ball but no luck. Eventually they come home. The next day they take a garden trowel. I say to take a shovel but they don't listen to me. No ball can be found with the trowel. Gus is unhappy. This morning, finally, with the aid of a shovel and a bit of digging, the ball is une...

What a busy week...in such a beautiful way. I won't even be able to remember all the nice things that have happened. Tiffany came the other day and we cooked up a storm. I guess I did write about that. Today, I had the maiden voyage of the writing group I have organized. It was small but lovely. I read the new beginnings poem, Michele, and we talked about our process and out plans. I said friends are welcome but only if they are not sticklers on rules and such. Who needs that? Then I had a lovely massage from my friend Cheryl and made it just in time to make it to my sub job. My favorite gig is when I work one hour and get paid for half a day. I had to bust up one group of little recidivists who were intent on causing trouble. Apparently, they had no idea who there were dealing with as I can isolate the ring leader in thirty seconds flat and take away his power and then they got nothin' on me. This little squirt, when I asked him politely to move to a different desk h...

A friend of mine writes on a morning check in thread on one of my forums and I see we start our day at about the same time! It's 4 am here and I just had a piece of toast and fed the cat, but I think I will go back to bed for a few hours. My daughter (love her to pieces) is coming at 9 to cook with me all day so that will be a high energy event! I meant to go to do something online at 9 pm last night but my stupid laptop updated and I got the boot with no password. Then really wanted to do something but fell fast asleep with a book in my hand and a bowl of popcorn in my lap. Both signs of weariness... We're meeting good friends for dinner at a funky old Bridgeman's ice cream building that hasn't been updated in a long time but the food is killer. The chef is a Vietnamese fellow trained in France. My first experience with butternut squash soup was there. They make amazing fish so I am thinking about sea bass or crab cakes. This is Minnesota after all...the choices ar...

Yesterday... My sweet husband woke me at 5 this morning so I could see the eclipse of the red moon. I stumbled out to the street with one eye open so I could say I saw it, then went back to bed. I got up for good at 7 and started cooking. I thought my daughter was going to work over-nights in October so we planned this so she would have lots of good food in the freezer for her family. Turns out, she doesn't have to work over-nights but we made a day of it anyway. We made gallons of butternut squash soup, baked a chicken, made two dozen chicken drumsticks, baked two batches of cookies, baked two giant pans of vegetable gratin, and made three dozen meatballs. We packaged it up in meal size portions so she can freeze it. All the dishes were done and the kitchen was clean when she left, too! A lovely package came from my mom late in the afternoon with a beautiful fall scarf, a Halloween scarf, and a lovely lace table cloth that I will either put on the table or I will wear. I'...

For a new beginning In out-of-the-way places of the heart, Where your thoughts never think to wander, This beginning has been quietly forming, Waiting until you were ready to emerge. For a long time it has watched your desire, Feeling the emptiness growing inside you, Noticing how you willed yourself on, Still unable to leave what you had outgrown. It watched you play with the seduction of safety And the gray promises that sameness whispered, Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent, Wondered would you always live like this. Then the delight, when your courage kindled, And out you stepped onto new ground, Your eyes young again with energy and dream, A path of plenitude opening before you. Though your destination is not yet clear You can trust the promise of this opening; Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning That is at one with your life’s desire. Awaken your spirit to adventure; Hold nothing back, learn t...