25th
I reconnected with the friend who shot this photo of me way back when I was a young lass of twenty-four. We have the kind of friendship|kindred spiritship that when I speak with her I always come away feeling inflated—with laughter, joy, bits of shared wisdom and more. She was my college roommate and she saw me through some tough times. We have many miles between us and very full lives that keep us from chatting on a regular basis and yet when we do take the time to reconnect well, trite as it may sound, it’s as if we’ve only hit the pause button and I come away feeling so blessed to call her my friend.
So here’s to reconnecting with kindred spirits and sharing all the wacky wonderful things that
make up a life.
24th
My husband was raised in a place where winter reigns for eight months of the year and brings with it tons of snow, and lots of wind blowing off the prairie. Hence, snow + dirt = snirt. I remember as a child loving the beauty of fresh white snow—building forts with lots of tunnels but feeling disgusted once the grownups began clearing the streets and then driving all over that beautiful snow. The beautiful white snow was soon full of nasty dirt and auto exhaust. Ick.
Sometimes snirt reminds me of some people who start out their lives all fresh and somewhere along the way they start picking up all sorts of grime—can I still try to find the hidden beauty in them? And better yet, can they find the hidden beauty in me under all my grime?
Yesterday in the middle of a dreary January day I received a call from someone in my life who has unfortunately picked up a deep surface of grime and now has another layer on it: dementia. But this call was full of unexpected and very welcomed brightness. He called just to say that he was feeling happy and he wanted me to know that he was feeling happy for once in a long while. His gruff voice was full of childlike wonder and beauty and for just a few minutes the grime was washed away.
Little bits of happiness are the fuel to move ahead and find the beauty—again.
18th
I found the letter below via NPR. It was posted via the Star Tribune. I say give this lass an A+ for creativity. I am now officially a fan of Ms. Lily Coyle.
Dear Pat Robertson,
I know that you know that all press is good press, so I appreciate the shout-out. And you make God look like a big mean bully who kicks people when they are down, so I’m all over that action.
But when you say that Haiti has made a pact with me, it is totally humiliating. I may be evil incarnate, but I’m no welcher. The way you put it, making a deal with me leaves folks desperate and impoverished.
Sure, in the afterlife, but when I strike bargains with people, they first get something here on earth — glamour, beauty, talent, wealth, fame, glory, a golden fiddle. Those Haitians have nothing, and I mean nothing. And that was before the earthquake. Haven’t you seen “Crossroads”? Or “Damn Yankees”?
If I had a thing going with Haiti, there’d be lots of banks, skyscrapers, SUVs, exclusive night clubs, Botox — that kind of thing. An 80 percent poverty rate is so not my style. Nothing against it — I’m just saying: Not how I roll.
You’re doing great work, Pat, and I don’t want to clip your wings — just, come on, you’re making me look bad. And not the good kind of bad. Keep blaming God. That’s working. But leave me out of it, please. Or we may need to renegotiate your own contract.
Best,
Satan
Lily Coyle—Minneapolis
17th
I found this photo of C today and it made me think about the little children I saw today at church. During the pastor’s sermon to the children he used a painting easel, paint and paper to make a point about how we all are endowed with many differnet kinds of talents/gifts. You could see those children were just busting to grab the paint brush out of his hand so THEY could paint a picture! I love how children are totally free of preconceived notions about creativity, art, art with a capital A…all the garbage that many of us have to deal with when we sit down and try to write a screenplay, design a kitchen, write a song, create an illustration,etc. They just want to CREATE. NOW!
A very refreshing reminder to us all.
12th
Happy Birthday Sweet C!
09th
Another sub-zero degree day so I decided to warm up the house by having a baking marathon. I came across these cookies at this website:
(http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/orange_spice_molasses_cookies.html) and they are amazing. The rolled oats and the whole wheat flour keep them healthy and the orange zest and spices make some of us want to write poetry—yes, they’re THAT good.
07th
We’re in the middle of another blizzard and so I’m comforting myself with a little warm and soft art. Sigh.
01st
A peaceful day on a lovely lake in Minnesota. I love how the snow and cool blue light forces your eye to pick out any warm colors within the frigid landscape.
rss feed