The Love Power of Women Friends--a healing force!

"[Women]...are such a source of strength to each other. We nurture one another. And we need to have unpressured space in which we can do the special kind of talk that women do when they're with other women. It's a very healing experience". This quote was obtained from a study of women friendships; instead of "fight or flight" response to stress (men); women create strong bonds with other women....I want to thank all the woman friends I have currently, who have reached out to be via email, phone, letters, personal hugs, etc. My stress is being reduced each day due to these powerful connections to women. I am very grateful for having women friendships; friendship are linked to the scientific premise that we need each other in times of crises. Grief is the active process toward acceptance! For some reason this has happened in my life at this time; I am suppose to learn something from this pain. I look forward to knowing that fairly soon, but that will not happen; it will happen when I am least expecting it...a butterfly will land on my shoulder when I am looking the other way. I reached out to friends today and they were there to listen to me. Thank you!

woman of many colors

i am doing pretty good today; planted more flowers; re-potted other plants; planted seeds from stratch; the front is looking better every day; the rusty paper art are expressions of my art work and the use of different colors; i love doing this sort of art play. cleaning around the house is helping me come to grips with my life and how it has changed---new seeds and new Charlotte

"Taking off my rings"

The wedding ring, that most famous and instantly recognizable symbol of the (hopefully perpetual) joining of a woman and woman in the institution of marriage, has a long, wide spread and mysterious history. Its beginnings lie in the deserts of North Africa, where the ancient Egyptian civilization sprang up along the fertile flood plains of the river Nile. This river was bringer of all fortune and life to the Pharaoh’s people and from plants growing on its’ banks were the first wedding rings fashioned. Sedges, rushes and reeds, growing alongside the well-known papyrus were twisted and braided into rings for fingers and larger bracelets for wrists. The ring is of course a circle and this was the symbol of eternity for the Egyptians as well as many other ancient cultures. It had no beginning and no end, like time. It returned to itself, like life; and the shape was worshipped in the form of the Sun and the Moon. The hole in the center of the ring is not just space either; it is important in its own right as the symbol of the gateway, or door; leading to things and events both known and unknown. It is not difficult therefore, to see how the ring and the gift of a ring began to be associated with love, in the hope that this most worthy of emotions could take on the characteristics of the circle and capture eternity. They wore it like we do today, on the third finger of the left hand, because of a belief that the vein of that finger directly traveled from the heart. This legend was later taken up by the Greeks, when they conquered Egypt under the generalship of Alexander the Great in 332 B.C. and from them passed onto the Romans, who called this the ‘vena amoris’, which is Latin for ‘the vein of love’. These early rings usually lasted about a single year before wear and tear took their inevitable toll. Hemp was probably the first choice, but some decided that they wanted a longer lasting material, and opted for leather, bone or ivory to craft their token of love. I took my rings off today.....I planted flowers and herbs...I think Memorial Day is representative of a new life for Charlotte and saying good-bye to my ole life. Goddess bless my rings from t & goddess bless her. (The ring in the picture is not my actually rings but ae just representative)

7 days

let go and let goddess....belove....self-care....hugging....acceptance....tolerance...patience....new life....new friends...prayers....roses.....planting new life.....smile....observe....be open....it will be ok....pain is the door to a new life!

"Friendships in Time of Need"

"I get a little help from my friends" John Lennon "Friendship is a sheltering tree" Coleridge "A smile is a silent sentence between friends" Unknown "Friendship is the golden thread that ties the heart of all the world" John Evelyn "Friendship is equal to Walking in Beauty with a Heart" Charchar Friends, I thank you for all your love, support, listening, phone calls, home visits & big hugs!

Square Flowers

These pictures are about coming apart and then putting the peices back together; this is accomplished with friends, support, love from others, and love for myself. This photo was enhanced with Adobe Photoshop---My role model for this sort of thing is my dearest friend L1 from Portland.

Buddha says

I guess my life lesson is that nothing in life is permanent; sure had me fooled! So I guess now I have to learn how to have "peaceful detachment and acceptance"; easier said than done!

"A Year to Remember"

Oh my. little did I know what this was going to mean in my life....

Mother's Day for Everyone

Happy Mother's Day to all my women friends and family...everyone we give ourselves to we are creating a new idea, place, time, change, dance, or art we are connected by the creative force within all of us...Happy Mother's Day to our Mother Earth.

UUFlag a Source of Love, Support, & Community

UU is a place of friendship, support, and love. We believe in the Dignity and Worth of individuals and other life on our mother earth. Let's remember we are all part of the circle of life, flowing, and growing with each other. Have a nice evening.

Peace from Within

This picture was taken in Hawaii in Feburary 2007.

end of semester hassle

This is our last week of the semester and I am happy it is...I am looking forward to the many opportunities that the summer will deliver to my front door; I seek acceptance, patience, and peace of all those around me. What do I like to do? I have been walking and counting my steps each day; fun to see my progress; yesterday was very low but while I was in Ill I walked many steps and even one day over 11.000 steps. (10,000 steps is 5 miles). Therefore, WALK IN BEAUTY.Speaking of walking take a look of the pictures I just downloaded from the web... I am currently reading this wonderful book about travel, love relationships, and enjoyment in our lives...we need more of that for sure...so just keep walking!

qual conference

I have been attending an International Congress on Qualitiative Research in Urbana-C, Ill. (http://www.qi2007.org/)It has been really fun, exciting, enjoyable, tiring, a new learning experience, and many new friends from around from around the world. Laura was here too so that was swell to catch up and attending many workshops together, walk miles, and laugh. Her blog www.lauraeverydayblog.blogspot.com has some beauiful pictures of the campus...it was cool, humid, rainy, and cloudy....had to take a city bus back and forth so that was really different than Flagstaff. It costs only 1.00 and took about 5 minutes (about 1 mile on Green Street)---passed the UU church and they have a sign "Marriage is a civil right"....my head is full of new ideas for new research projects....narrative, autoethnography, photovoice, video action narrative, art work, and so many other ways to share the experience of research with the participants in a very equal manner...this conference was between the edges of social justice, activitism, equity, paradignm changes, and many more ideas and concepts....radical and mind expanding and exploring! I love new learning adventures....thanks to all the participants who attended this conference, all 955! Think Qual! (if you want to see the modern retro that this huge mega campus classrooms use for conferences--take a look---flash from the past); NAU even is more modern that this system.... be brave and take a look...and get a laugh.....the following picture is the type of high tech machine they are using in their classrooms....