22/02/2022

it's one of those auspicious dates. at least according to the internet. and since 22 has always been my number (thanks to my birthday being march 22), it does genuinely feel like it might be. all the woo woo folks on tiktok (there is something i love about how buttery and reassuring this woman's voice is) are saying you should send your wildest dreams out into the universe today, because on this auspicious date, the universe will be listening. i'm not sure i really buy that, but it does seem worth a try.

what's makes me think there might be something to it is that when i went out to feed the chickens and the outdoor kitties, it was sunny and there was a hint of spring in the air. the birds were all twittering like they could feel it too. 

i think what i most want to manifest on this day is positivity. it can be so easy to fall into negativity and complaining, especially when you're a person who says sarcastic or cynical things for a laugh. but i want positivity in my life, so it seems like the best thing to manifest on this auspicious day. so i'm going to be positive and spread positive vibes. when i would go for the laugh with a negative wisecrack or say something shady (also for a laugh), i'm going to be positive instead. sending positivity into the universe will surely bring it back to me - and with it will be all those other things that people manifest, like success and wealth and health and love. and who can't use more of those things? in any case, it's worth a try. 

what are you manifesting today?

autumn fades towards winter

there's a full moon outside and instagram is full of people performing mercury retrograde full moon rituals. i'm not sure how much i believe in such things, but the full moon does feel like magic...even more so, these days as autumn turns into winter. we have foggy mornings and foggy evenings and i find myself taking the back way to get where i'm going, because then i can stop and capture such scenes. i think that sort of ritual may mean more than some fluffy mercury retrograde thing. what does that mean anyway? that mercury is fixing the gravel road with a vintage grader? give me a still forest, where i can stand listening to the silence, looking at how what light there is plays on the leaves, breathing it all in. now there's a ritual i can get my head around and i think it clears my path ahead more than anything else possibly could. health and prosperity, here i come!

a new manifesto

when did my world and my thoughts become smaller? when did i replace deep conversations with gossip and snark? did the internet do this to me? was it all the cynical (but oh-so-amusing) gifs? is it my true nature? i don't think so. most decidedly it is not me. i love to think and discuss and share things that make me think and discuss. how did that stop? when did it stop? when was it taken over by pettiness and yes, small-minded nastiness? that's not who i am and more importantly, not what i want. i want to be open and share ideas and not have hidden agendas or look for them or assume they're there and drive myself crazy looking for them. i want to go through life expecting the best of others, not being bogged down by suspicions and doubt. i want to share ideas and have my ideas made better by those with whom i share. i want to laugh and joke lightheartedly. i want to make awesome things together with awesome people. i want to be inspired by those around me. i want them to push me to be better, more creative and funnier. i want to tread paths i haven't tread before. see new things, experience new things, look with openness and curiosity upon the world. to meet everyone i encounter with a light heart and curiosity. i want to skip through my days again, loving what i do and spending time with people who matter to me and give me energy. i want to be in touch with myself, bodily and spiritually. i want to open my heart and my mind. i want to be grateful and express it. i want to appreciate those around me who make me laugh and think and sing and who lighten my heart. and my heart will be lightened if i'm open and curious. i want to live and laugh and love. and feel light and buoyant and prosperous and generous of spirit. and i want to radiate all of that. i feel the glow from within already now...

12.12.12

yet again, the interwebs are abuzz with what is seen as an auspicious date - 12.12.12. we won't actually see another of these in my lifetime, as there won't be a 13.13.13 or a 14.14.14 - that makes me wonder whether i've used them wisely. if a line of numbers can mean something, did i make the right wishes or do the right actions on those significant dates? or does it matter more to take the right steps every day? (one could hope so.)

but, on the off chance that it might mean something to think about and write down the things i'd like to manifest in my life here and now while the numbers are aligned, i'm going to do so today. some of it in my art journal and a little bit here. because sometimes you're just not ready to speak all of your wishes out loud. but a couple of them won't hurt, if writing is indeed the new praying.

i'm very hopeful about my business in the year ahead. it's been slow and a bit up and down this year, but we've learned a lot and have many projects buzzing on the horizon. i want to see those to fruition and be open to where they take me.

my dad will turn 80 next year and we (husband and sabin and me) want to be there for his 80th birthday. i want us to go for his birthday and stay until new year's (that's pretty much most of december). we want to travel a bit in the US while we're there - go skiing and visit friends (and sights) in the desert southwest. i'm going to work hard to be able to afford that trip - both financially and the time off it will take.

maybe these things are really just a question of setting a goal and working towards it. what do you think? will you make any wishes today?

* * *

a bit of bitterness on the rise of eBooks. frankly, i think we need to just get over it with this, see it as the democratization of the writing profession (what gets published is no longer determined by a closed group of elite publishers), and get writing.

* * *

it seems russians (and probably a lot of others) are still struggling to understand americans.

irrigating my joy

a couchsurfing couple from the canary islands who will be biking to our house on july 1 (that's quite a trip!) sent me a message yesterday. at the end, they thanked me for irrigating their joy. and i fell in love with the phrase and decided it's going to be my theme for the summer. any activity that doesn't irrigate my joy will have to go.

here's how i intend to irrigate my joy:

~ writing
~ taking photos
~ spending time with sabin and her horse
~ working in the garden
~ processing the garden bounty
~ sewing
~ making things
~ meeting and talking to new people
~ long, laughter-filled evenings with friends and good food
~ getting involved somehow in my local area
~ follow through on a few of the balls currently in the air

and i'm looking very much forward to meeting these enthusiastic people who came up with such a phase.

what will you do to irrigate your joy?

a spring manifesto

pentax ME super - kodak 800

tara wrote a spring manifesto and that seemed like a good thing...

~ plant things.
~ be more aware of the moon.
~ dare.
~ worry less and do more.
~ eat lunch in the garden.
~ learn to crochet.
~ build.
~ banish negativity.
~ use the stash.
~ do something scary at least once a week (includes phone calls and taking shots only on film).
~ help husband with the garden house.
~ acquire a goat.
~ and more bunnies.
~ shoot film.
~ get in touch with my inner viking.
~ dress up. for no reason.

this is starting to sound a whole lot like resolutions and we know i'm not so keen on those, but i want spring to be full of growth and writing is the new praying, so consider this a prayer of sorts.

impatiently awaiting 2011

gorgeous jewel-toned snowflake by lisa from pursuing art
part of the ornament exchange sponsored by elizabeth

i have grown weary and vaguely irritated with the reverb10 prompts. 

nothing against the fine and well-intentioned people who have written them, 

but i think i have to abandon the project here, 

so close to the end, 

because i feel like i'll just be repeating myself

if i talk about one more defining moment or gift that the past year has given me.

reflecting is a good thing - therapeutic, even.

but i want to look forward now. 

i feel butterflies in my stomach contemplating the new year ahead. 

i can't wait to get to it. 

it feels
like a new beginning,
tho' it's just a new page on the calendar -
there's something so unwritten about it -
a blank page on which to put my mark.
or my many marks.

so much i want to do in 2011:
words to write,
photos to take,
things to sew,
projects on which to embark,
paint to paint,
gardens to plant,
eggs to gather from chickens not yet acquired,
places to see,
people to meet,
magic to be felt,
sparkle to be sparkled.

i want it all.
now.
now.
now.