Orange Roses Only in Portland/Land of Water

I could not believe this but I found orange roses! This place is so amazing.

Mushrooms Everywhere!

I took several pictures of mushrooms; there were at least 10 types all in one place; I adore the color of mushrooms; so soft and smooth!

Purple Cabbage in Portland

We attended a local downtown farmer's market and I took this picture; I have NEVER seen purple cabbage----I hope you enjoy it too.

Art in Flower Pots, Woman on Canvas, and Birds on a Wall

While in Portland, my dear friend taught me how to make collages with Picasa2...playing with new link on the web. I still have not learned how to link to the page...more lessons are needed!

Dine' Beauty Way

 

Home from Portland

wonderful time in Portland with my dear extended family, L1,D,H and 2 darling twin felines....amazing what h2o can provide when you have it....thank you L1.

water everywhere; green everywhere....life everywhere

Sure glad to be in Portland with my dear dear friends/family d,l1, & h...and two darling cats...slept really good last night; over 8 hours! went downtown on MAX with h; we had a fun time; h is such a nice person and really funny to be around. my eyes are full of color, green, pink, blue, red, with all the flowers in bloom. Sure nice to spend some quality time with d,l1,h...walked to MAX this morning...about 7 blocks away from their house; very good for my walking schedule. had a tasty pasta dish with shrimp, halibut, mussels in lemon and garlic sauce...wow what a combination; had to walk even more after that dinner; love it here! UU starts tomorrow evening...lots of people riding their bikes and putting them on the MAX..Portland's light rail system---fun to ride and see all the different cultures and ages. Urban life is so amazing compared to flag...it has been sunny both days so far---even hot! Hard to believe...learned what a "steamer" was from h at starbucks on Pine Square downtown. nice to be on vacation with my dear family...

Glowing Flowers

I am using photoshop and trying to experiment with the features; these flowers are bright pink and now their edges are glowing....maybe L1 can teach me more when I am in Portland....or maybe they look like Flag blackholes???? oh well...

L1 in QC----what fun you must be having!

Just wanted a picture of QC for you L1....see you in Portland earlier next week. Each day is getting better and better....Safe travels.

A Twinkle in Her Eyes

Today represents new growth and happiness for me. I walked this morning to the park and saw flowers blooming and birds flying...The picture of the new seedlings are so precious and hopeful....I can smile too. 1 month today!

Amargosa--a must see

Make sure you see "Amargosa" about a dancer, artist, business women, elderjoy, and many other things of high quality and wisdom! Marta, a woman from NYC who transplants herself to Death Valley and develops and performs in an Opera House which she built....great photography, music, and very entertaining....a role model for women and change--- http://www.amargosaoperahouse.com/operahouse.html

Always be Ready for Unexpected Surprises!

Today two of my dine family members drove 4 hours (one way) to come and see how I was doing and to let me know I am loved....I am feeling so loved after a really hard weekend. What I am experiencing is being human and everything will be okay. As L1 said it takes some sharp edges and difficult times to get us to the joy on the other side.....wisdom from both L1 and L2 and b and s......and from my own "internal knowning"...L1 called me from DC....love her so much...thank you for being so kind to me....will see you in p pretty soon....soup sounds really good....thanks for the special "altered book" referral from L2....

Getting Ready to Move or Stay?

Getting ready for the UU garage/back yard/front street sale....went through many boxes in the Ascona Way garage....not much fun but a neccesity right now. Does anyone want some sofa pillows? Just kidding---they are in a box already....

Art Journal Pictures

 

 

 

 

A time to reveiw...a time to heal....a time to listen....a time to be...

Libra from a Buddhist Perspective

LIBRA (September 23 - October 22) This month there is support from a distance. The Sun, Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, and finally Venus, all help from their positions in other signs. You also may have some good insights as Neptune is well positioned, too. Basically go slowly and be positive. Things will work out just fine. Libra Buddhists keep life in balance. This month be mindful, positive, and helpful--qualities that are easy for a Libra Sun. (from snowlionpub.com)

In and Out of Grief

Define: Grief "Great sorrow or unhappiness" The word grief in several languages: Arabic: كآبَه، حُزْن، غَم Chinese (Simplified): 悲伤 Chinese (Traditional): 悲傷 Czech: smutek, žal Danish: sorg Estonian: mure Finnish: murhe French: chagrin German: der Gram Greek: θλίψη, ψυχική οδύνη Hungarian: szomorúság Icelandic: sorg, harmur Indonesian: kesedihan Italian: dolore Japanese: 深い悲しみ Korean: 큰 슬픔 Latvian: bēdas; skumjas; nelaime Lithuanian: liūdesys, sielvartas Norwegian: sorg, harme Polish: smutek Portuguese (Brazil): pesar Portuguese (Portugal): desgosto Romanian: tristeţe; supărare Russian: горе;скорбь Slovak: smútok, zármutok, žiaľ Slovenian: žalost Spanish: dolor, pesar, aflicción Swedish: sorg, bedrövelse Turkish: büyük acı, ıstırap

June, a time for growth and acceptance

I am so happy it is a new month; a full moon; lots of love surrounding me; praying for my dear friend, b and her upcoming medical issues. Aging is an incredible process---each part of my body, mind, spirit is changing and each observing each other on this long journey toward death....acceptance of the entire life cycle....acceptance of where I am now....acceptance of change in all forms from friendships, love ships, work, etc. I am just so happy it is June; in fact I have been up all night to get to midnight so I could write about the beginning of June at 12:10 AM....now for a good night sleep....with cozy cats and dogs ("the kids") whom i love and give me their unconditional love and acceptance. They live in the present moment and I need to learn that lesson this month.

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)