We surprised each other this morning. I thought he was a rock when I picked him up, perfectly camouflaged against my deck. We both jumped and he hopped into one of my old pansy pots and hid under a stem.
Into the old pond
A frog suddenly plunges.
The sound of water.
~Basho
Every year I pick a word, a word to think about, a lens to look through, something that makes me dig a little deeper into what it is that has meaning for me. That information comes in bits and pieces, like grace notes, and enhances being here for me.
This year my word is “value.” Merriam says that it is a Middle English word associated with worth, and the past participle of Latin valere - to be of worth, to be strong. It has to do with the relative worth or importance of something, the relative duration of a musical note or the relative lightness or darkness of a color.
"If of thy mortalgoods thou are bereft,
and from thy slender store
Two loaves alone to thee are left,
Sell one, and with the dole
By Hyacinth's to fee the Soul."
~Sadi
So this year with be filtered by what what is of value, what relationship I have to that and how will that value show up in my life and art; intrinsically, metaphorically, and literally. I don't have all the words for it yet, but that is what this year will be about finding value and making it my own.
What is your word this year?
When I sat down with my cup of tea this morning I noticed this lovely chap sitting on my porch rail looking down at something.
Then these lovely does came into view, right off my porch deck. It's nice having company for breakfast.
They paw the snow and push their noses under it to find the acorns from our cathedral of oaks.
"Hey, who are you looking at Squirrel?"
Tomorrow, the quilts I just finished...
This morning's winter wonderland.
It was lovely last night watching it fall while we were snug inside by the fire. It was coming down in big flakes, the kind you see cut out of white paper and pasted on the windows in elementary school. The gypsy soup was - my favorite - and popcorn during the movie. Splendid.
And then as a real treat, just before we turned in the night, we looked out the back door and saw three deer (does) in the yard pushing the snow aside with their noses to get the acorns that cover our yard.
This morning I went out early to take some pictures - the sun was just beginning to touch the branches laden with snow and the sparkle was magic.
Buddha, as usual, took it all in stride.
My parents would have been married 58 years today.
One hundred posts and 50,000 words! How appropiate they come together!
It's National Novel Writers Month again (every November) and this is my 5th year participating. The idea is to write 50,000 words between 12:01 on November 1st and Midnight on November 30th. I won in 2006 when I made it to the 50,000 words. I didn't do as well in other years but none of the words were wasted. Someday they will find life in other stories or flurish when a new idea comes along but they were all fun to write! And most important, I met some great people from all over the world.
We had our kick-off meeting at Cozi's in West Hartford - about an hour from me - but I wouldn't miss it. Here is our fearless leader in "steampunk."
And our group - CT North - some dressed for Halloween - all ready to start writing after midnight!
Good luck everyone! See you at the write-ins!
I love the first snow of the season! Last Thursday & Friday, I was in snowflake heaven!
I know it will get deep and hard to shovel and it will get dirty and piled up by the road side. It will be difficult to drive in and will be hard to remember what the grass looks like but that's for January or February, maybe even March. But not today.
Today it is fluffy and white and sparkly and reminds me of fairy dust. Today it is a magical world and we have gone for a walk in it.
Our "first snow" ritual - a walk in the nature preserve.
I was having a bit of a frump today! Twenty-two days of rain just put me over the top - sort of cabin fever covered with mold. I'm generally pretty happy but my endorphins were all hiding under under umbrellas and just as I was about to jump into a vat of poor soggy me when I saw an envelop in the mail. An arty envelope, with a picture on the front, and a card inside with a lovely note...and this absolutely adorable kitty bead and a hand stamped charm.
How cool is this?! Thanks, Kim! You are the best. This "grace note" absolutely brightened up my day.
This is a small photo quilt. It's a sample for a class that I am teaching in July. Photo quilts are lots of fun - in class you get to see bits and pieces of everyone's life. When I do a commission (I just finished a large one - story and photos are coming soon) I feel as if I really know the person by the time that I have finished the quilt. I have made them for weddings, birthdays, graduations, births & deaths - they are joy to make and a joy to receive - I love it!
And speaking of knowing people, you might just find yourself in this quilt. If you're not here you could be ont he cutting table ready for the next sample! Of course, I did have some help...
Here's another Grace Notes for you. At the end of my street there is a farm (yes, I really live in the woods) and I when I was starting out for the post office and my morning walk this little head popped up.
We looked at each other for a bit, sizing each other up, and just for the fun of it...I mooed. I have no idea what I said but she took off like a shot, legs going in all directions.
Nothing like Mom when a stranger moos at you! No doubt what Mom was thinking...leave my kid alone. That little face, just made my day.
Tell me what makes you smile...
Grace notes are musical notations that represent several kinds of musical ornaments. They are smaller in size than a regular note and augment the piece. When I took piano lessons, oh so long ago, I just loved seeing them on a page. Wikipedia says that metaphorically grace notes indicate concerns which are of secondary importance to that which is a primary concern. For example, the table setting for a party would be the grace note to the menu or the guest list.
But the table setting can be beautiful and add to the experience of the meal.
Grace notes in life are, for me, those little things that you come across - mostly by surprise - that make you smile. They are not the big things like landing a new job or winning lotto but they add to your day in a "priceless" kind of way. Ineffable, personal, they touch a place beyond words. They lift us up, even if just for the moment and they carry us to a better place.
The catch is you have to be present to notice them. Here's an example... I was heading out the other day in a rush and there on the wooden shelf by the door on our deck was this circle of stones. I had put them there in a pile when the flower pot them were living in broke. I had intended to put them in the new one but hadn't gotten around to it. My husband arranged them in this nice little circle, a bit of a mini Stonehenge right on my deck. It's so like him to do a little thing like that, quietly, without announcement, for no reason other than to please himself, to make a bit of order out of chaos.
Finding the stones there made me smile. A bit of grace - an unearned favor from the universe and Phil. In pausing to enjoy them for a moment, I found a better rest of the day.
I think I will collect these grace notes and tuck them into my day where I can peer at them when I need to be reminded that there is always a bit of grace around if you look for it.
