image from google

I love to walk labyrinths
I've walked gravel ones, stone ones
grass ones....almost invisible ones
Did you know that it is said that the center represents
Jerusalem?
You can't walk a labyrinth quickly
or with haste
You must pay attention and stop
and turn and follow a different way
sometimes a way that seems like the way
you have just left
curious thing
magical thing
this walking....slowly contemplating
then before you know it you are unaware of the path
but only travel it
and when you reach Jerusalem....when I reach Jerusalem that is
I plant my feet and raise my hands
a lighting rod
to God
Then as I slowly walk out..I release it all
the worry, the pain, the panic,the fear,the hurt,the the the.........
let it go, drop it in the small place among my feet
and slowly I walk the way out and
give thanks

Now that's the kind of walking I like to do

Today was the funeral service of fellow blogger
Audrey Carves
She was Lutheran like me
seems there aren't many of us left
But her service was so beautiful
so Lutheran, so reassuring
full of song,Scripture and prayer
I will miss her straight forward words
they don't make 'em like her anymore
...

This is my youngest, Sarah
I thought I was old when I had her.....32
ha! How things have changed
She is coming over today
she is on teacher break
She is coming over and we are going to go to my mother's
Sarah has been taking a sewing class
and my mom has lots of fabric
She (my mom) will be in sewing heaven today
sharing her fabric with the only female in the family that loves thread and yarn
like she does......I was more like my dad
Below is a picture of my mom taken about 2 years ago
at a woman's group that we belonged to
Simple Abundance.....we studied Sarah Ban Breathnach's book
for 10 years....can you believe that
Really it was a wonderful group of mixed ages
connecting with a page of the book's daily entries
It was shocking sometimes to hear what my mother had to say
I didn't know that...
My mom and I didn't always see eye to eye
I wasn't the easiest teenager
but I had spirit and spunk
something foreign to my mother who was raised in the
Lutheran church of the German kind (and I'm glad  she was..(but that is another topic)
But no one could be happier or prouder to have a mother like her
than me....
.within some internal confines she had a rebel streak too

Sarah is steady and strong
organized and deliberate
and she has the best intuition
and she is kind and compassionate and loving
We should have a wonderful day today
Three females in the big wide world
connected

 

 

I brought this coaster home from a local restaurant.
I think it scared the heck out of my husband.
hee hee

Well he isn't the only one feeling the years.
When they consistently call you "mam" at the grocery store,
you know you are losing the battle.
And when you get the senior discount at the movie theater
it's all over....or is it?

Heck no
With every weight I lift building strong muscles
and with every new fresh haircut and color ( I said I would like to be gray at 92)
and with every other thing that I do to take care of my body and face
I look better and feel better
A limber body moves like a younger body
move it or lose it.....so true
and I still have a "Susie" look to me...who knows for how much longer
so I'm driving my stake in this ground
planting my flag



and humor is a big part of feeling alive
and this coaster gave me a big chuckle
now if I can only get him to see my side of the story

 

Finally, my health numbers are down

It didn't happen easily

I had to be deliberate

I have posted about being deliberate before...

It is a way to live

purposeful...if you will

though I have never read the book and don't know if we speak of the same thing.....but

I make choices daily, some good, some bad, some wasteful

So I deserve the life I have...choices..it is and always has been choices

even in the things that were beyond my control

like death or illness

But how do I go on...those have been my choices

So

I begin again.....over and over

reminding myself of the life I want

remind myself about the dreams...that I still dream at almost 62

I"d like to live to be 92

with long gray hair gracefully braided back

in a feminine way

I want to still garden and write into the morning and night

still enjoy my own company

still love animals...even have a few...maybe many..who knows

I feel comfortable around animals

they get me

I love it when the 3 cats surround me in the evening while

I'm reading a book, counting my carbs for the day, writing a poem while sitting on their sofa

or watching Design Stars like I did last night (my favorite lost, of course)

Animals tell the truth

Sometimes humans don't.

But if you are tuned in..you can read their words intuitively

like you read a cat's face, body, tail

Taking care of myself takes a lot of time

I must be focused....and that means in many and all categories

health,beauty,personal space,being creative....like my tag above

I love to collage tags.....thanks to my friend April

who is a master painter and collage artist

She showed me how to open up...to express

This tag was for her annual Valentine's Party where we exchange homemade

valentines......I couldn't go this year..my heart was too broken

But I made valentines as the stirrings came

and I am like a kid looking at them

The theme always LOVE

So I took a hint and went back to what I love to do

Write

I have dug out my book..though there are several actually,

but this one is about me

I think I have something to say to women my age

and maybe even to some younger ones

So out it came...

and I have begun to write

The biggest thing that stopped me was the nagging question

Who am I to lead a way?

But my husband reminded me that I am the one with the open door

always letting in the orphans of being

listening

He says I should put out a shingle

It has taken a lifetime of mistakes and a lot of listening myself

to figure things out....I am a sponge of heart things

And yesterday I found a black glass heart in the parking lot of

the drugstore......sign....Yes, I believe in signs

that's why I get along so well with my friend Elena

Last year when I went away to writing camp/workshop

I told our instructor that I was working on a memoir sort of piece

good good, he said...Did you bring it along?

I am only on chapter 3 I told him and proceeded to show him

 my chapter titles 

OH!!! That is not the way to do it he said....(.clammed right up)

Write first, then chapter titles.

...I left camp and put it away...never to look at it again

Well, after weeks of getting back on track...having more to say

and getting my little black glass heart sign

I dug it out again

......rereading a stewed piece of writing

is interesting......not bad

screw him

I finished chapter 3.......Begin Again

now on to,

Did You Love Your Life?

 

When all else fails, make chicken soup

 

I can't believe that I was making chicken soup this morning
It just happened
I was going through the fridge and looking at what was there
carrots, left over chicken, celery,onion,parsley
a dynamic sweet onion from a farmer's market
I was bewitched......If I had thought about it...I probably wouldn't have made it
It has been oppressively hot lately
But last night it stormed....and today the sky is cloudy and gray
a reprieve from the heat
so what do I do?  Fill the house with the delicious smell of cooking soup
Funny how the house seems humid now.....maybe why winter is when we usually think of soup
But this garden wench took a walk in the garden this morning and it was actually not bad outside
and the finches were cheerfully encouraging me with their chatter

You see... my low carb dieting is never going to get easy
So I came inside and snifffed around the fridge and took action
Just because I won't be eating this soup
my dear husband will love it...the house smells so good
and the AC will take the humidity out soon
and when he walks in the door tonight
he'll at least will be happy
....me....I'll be eating my left over sausage, peppers,onion and tomatoes
 over melted mozzarella cheese
yummy, no regrets

 

tethered to harbor
 I want to get on this boat
cut the rope of faith

This is the last of the moon photos

swimming in darkness

waiting for the tide to come

conception ocean



 

come and play with me
we'll laugh and kick around dreams
winner gets the moon

 

I have cut and snipped
and what remains is all mine
a me miracle

moonstruck illusion
I believed in fairytales
you were just a frog


I carry the moon
though my feet sink into sand
I rise with its light

 

you brought me the moon
its light kept me in shadows
you were of darkness

 

heavenly body
ancient people followed you
man in the moon love

swing wildy at me
you don't understand my light
I rise despite you

 

a frame for your fear
a light left on in the night
someone always there

 

goals are a challenge
believe that you can reach them
the moon waits for you

 

joyful believers
young minds are open to all
their bodies follow

 

illumination
moon light or written word
filling dark corners

 

 moon's beauty holds us
 wonder unmeasureable
standing with a child

 

Godly light of night
I held the moon by a thread
as I fell asleep

 

a lasso sent out
 rodeo of hurt feelings
like roping the moon

 

magic between friends
we ran around by moonlight
 forgotten troubles

 

the family painter
the light of it hurts your eyes
I'll get out my brush

 

I sat with my thoughts
the moon fell into my bowl
dining with myself

 

horizon of time
this second is all we have
its all in your hands

photographer unknown to me...a friend sent me a bunch of these...so creative

 

I reached for the moon
thought I'd  make a pizza pie
slices of wonder

 

 

see you soon

All morning I have been writing and rewriting

a flash fiction

I put the finishing touches on it...for today...

I'm sure the writing group will have suggestions tonight

to improve it...what would I do without them?

..and then I saw it

Ray Bradbury is dead.

oh my

I am not a groupie

and there is no one I would stand in line to get an autograph of

but somehow I would have liked to have passed him on the street

or seen him sitting at the theater or picking out a good tomato at the grocery store

I would have stood in awe

I read today that "reading Bradbury is like having seen a striking glimpse out of a car window

and then being whisked away"

Oh yes.

One story he wrote about a man at confession on Christmas Eve

became part of me

Now how many writers do that?

Eudora Whelty maybe

I print out my story of 611 words

and head down to the bookcase to find

Bradbury



# 120 Magpie tale

 

Mabel Farley fare
her tea contribution
Where's the dried up prunes?

http://magpietales.blogspot.com/



 

Writing group starts up again tonight
I was going to ditch it
feeling low and oh so sad
and I know you are all tired of hearing it.

 I want to say how incredibly thankful
for all of you who were kind and thoughtful enough to comment
on the loss of our little unborn granddaughter
She became still last Tuesday
at 34 weeks
your words comforted me, your act of love reaching out to me-
an unknown blogger friend..thanks

I have been rattling around the house all week,
so weighed down by my broken heart for her and her mother and father
But today my husband said, GO
to writing.....
Oh I don't think that is a good idea
I have no energy, no spark
nothing will come out of me that's not wrapped
in sorrow or loss
GO,
he said just now on the phone

...So...I;m making a quick pot of sloppy joes
and a salad
Mary Ann will be here at 6pm
my turn to drive

#119 Magpietale

chimneys and white brick

lights in the windows cheer me

people living lives



http://magpietales.blogspot.com/

 

"Walk through the different rooms where you eat,sleep,and live. Bless the walls, the roof, the windows,and the foundation. Give thanks as you sift and sort, simplify, and bring order to the home you have. Realize that the home of your dreams dwells within. You must find it in the secret sanctuary of your heart today before you can cross the threshold of tomorrow."

.....Sarah Ban Breathnache.....from Simple Abundance

FOR YOU FORMED MY INWARD PARTS

YOU COVERED ME IN MY MOTHER'S WOMB.

I WILL PRAISE YOU,

FOR I AM FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE;

MARVELOUS ARE YOUR WORKS,

AND THAT MY SOUL KNOWS VERY WELL

PSALM 139 14-15

Isla  (EYE-LA)  Maeve

Our little bud has passed away

at 34 weeks

Know that I am totally grief stricken

but put my faith in the Almighty

and thank Him for the blessing of her

though I never got to whisper in her ear

that I love her

My daughter is being induced now

..lift up a pray for this wonderful woman

this wonderful mother

who loves

that she be may be surrounded in prayer

and love

 



 

I LOVE A GOOD LETTER TO THE EDITOR
..THIS ONE APPEARED IN MY LUTHERAN INSURANCE MAGAZINE
I'VE GOT TO SAY THAT I WISH SOMEDAY TO MEET THIS WOMAN
A WOMAN AFTER MY OWN HEART
A RECIPE IS A RECIPE
YOU WANT TO MESS WITH IT...MAKE IT HEALTHIER  ( IN YOUR OPINION)
GO AHEAD...BUT SHE IS RIGHT DONT CALL IT SWEDISH
NO..CALL IT I MESSED WITH THE RECIPE MEATBALLS
OR TINKERED WITH TURKEY BALLS
AND I LOVE HOW SHE SAID... IN YOUR FACE...
THAT AT HER HOUSE YOU GET THE REAL THING
GOLLY I LOVE THIS WOMAN
I DIDN'T KNOW LUTHERANS HAD BALLS LIKE HERS
HEE HEE

 

This little fella turned four yesterday
In Laguna beach ,California
Not fair
But I honor my son's decision to make a life
for himself and his family where he chooses
and he is doing quite well
and I guess I have to admit that it  abounds in natural beauty
and our State of Illinois is just as tax and spend crazy
and full of corrupt politicians
only our governors actually go to prison
but that is another topic
It's my grandson I want to tell you about
He's firely independent
stubborn and brilliant
and this always brings a smile to my face
when I talk to my son about his son

His son is just like him
ha ha
I better take care of myself
because I want to be around to witness this

 

Today is perfect
sunny, high of 80
a great day to immerse myself in the garden
of things
And in a way I shall
My daughter is not feeling well
and little Finn is running a temp too
So it's off to 50 miles away
to care for them both
I'm bringing ground beef and onion
to make little guy his favorite grandma meatballs
and to give back scratches with his Thomas train
...hey...that's what he likes ..his Thomas train driven across his back
slowly
Not how I planned my first glorious day of freedom and good weather
but
remember what I said about love
it's all about the connection

 

a miracle of connections
that must be seen this way
to celebrate

Happy Jack's Babies

 

This is one of my baby squirrels that nested in the River birch tree
I love Thornton Burgess books...and his Happy Jack Squirrel

Lately I have heard squabbling and screeching coming from the nest
The smallest of them has a scrawny tail that is red... Orange red
He's rather shy and fast....haven't been able to get a good shot of him
But it seems all of them have bits of red in their fur
All my garden squirrels have had plain gray fur
until now....and this bunch is a warring clan

But this morning one of them brought me joy
as I opened the shutter and saw him munching away
at the left over bits of sunflower seeds that I put out last night
It rained all night....and I wondered about my critters in that storm
the Happy Jack squirrels in the tree
the mama cardinal sitting on her nest
the little sparrows in the houses
..my toads....

Storms come to us all
and most of us survive them

Just now a shot of sunlight
broke through the clouds
Did you see it?

blessings

Today is hair day

a trip downtown to get ripped off on parking

only to sit for 2 hours getting that natural look

of highlights and lowlights

and just the right amount of hair snipped away

I really enjoy going there...it lifts this old woman up

looking at all the young women so fashionably dressed

OH and the shoes they wear...my my

Lately I have been busy with family things

and book club and writing

but truthfully

I have been busy keeping busy to keep my sadness at bay

the clock ticks onward

every second of life

leading to heartbreak

to our family

I think I'll tip big today



magpietale #115

he reads his novel

sits in his narcissism

with a pruney soul


exhibitionist
your soul naked would reveal
a shriveled small man


http://magpietales.blogspot.com/