Picture: close-up of half of a soap bubble.
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All bubbles, all the time. 🙂
Category Archives: photo
pilgrimage
Today in Meeting I thought about my life’s journey. So many unexpected twists and serendipitous surprises! I think I’ve always been curious, a seeker, the type of person who relishes life and who savors each moment .
At lunch today with Friends we spoke of our family’s trips to Europe. I shared the deep connection I feel to places like Paris and London. CatGirl added her insights from our various journeys abroad. Such lovely memories!
As we talked I thought about how my travels are a pilgrimage of sorts–yes I’m sightseeing, but I’m also feeling to places on a more metaphysical level, using my imagination to get a greater sense of the people who inhabit these places now or who have lived there in years past. Canterbury cathedral was such a powerful space that my bones nearly vibrated with the thoughts, hopes, and dreams of the many pilgrims who had trod its well-worn steps. Our wizened guide opened our minds to the legends and lore that surround each stone in the structure. Our visit to the petite hospital where the infirm awaited their anticipated healing was heavy with the hopes of thousands of pilgrims, as was our cruise around the river running through the town. Such a holy place. And such a privilege to have experienced it with my loved ones.
Someday I intend to make a pilgrimage journey on foot–to somewhere old, ancient and meaningful. But for now I navigate this path of my everyday life and I attempt to imbue each step with the fervor of my convictions. For I desire to live each moment as if in expectation of the miraculous, or as if a prelude to divinity.
PS: Kudos to John and the many lovely photos that he’s taken of me during our travels together!
PPS: Do note the presence of my favorite black sweater in this photo. 🙂
unfolding
Picture: Pink rosebud, about halfway opened. An ant crawling on the edge of one petal.
This is a photo from last week. This morning I went to the garden but I didn’t take the camera with me. Rather than taking photos to share with you, I let myself wholly relax. I smelled, listened, and pondered.
There was hummingbird who splashed in the spray from the hose, bumblebees in the lavender, a bright yellow bird flitting around in some weeds by the back fence. It was just lovely. So were the two strawberries that I picked and enjoyed while they were still sun-warm. So, so tasty.
just peachy…
Picture: a photo of a branch of pink peach blossoms
lavender’s blue, dilly dilly
Picture: a closeup of a single wand of lavender against a blurry background.
Contemplating lavender tonite. For relaxation. 🙂
I have two huge lavender bushes in my garden. I trimmed them back to a bundle of woody stems last fall and they are now back in full bloom. They smell absolutely delightful when I’m watering or at dusk when the scents rise from the plants in the evening breeze.
because some flowers are good eating…
Picture: a closeup of a head of broccoli growing in my garden.
This ‘flower’ turned out to be pretty tasty. I ate it for lunch on Saturday 🙂 My goal, once the school pressure lets down a bit, is to eat one meal/day from the garden this summer. And I think I just might pull it off. 🙂
One of you, on your response to the pilgrimgirl survey, suggested that I should write about school more often. Hmmm….probably not going to happen. At least not anytime soon. Blogging is my escape from school. From the pressure that is building as my Qualifying Exams are looming. A respite from the many hours each day that I am reading, taking notes, writing mock responses to possible exam questions.
My other escapes from studying? The gym and the garden. Lifting weights does a lot to relieve the pressure. Sometimes I actually imagine myself pushing all the stress out through my arms as I’m bench pressing. It’s lovely to get that ‘release.’ The garden, well, that probably doesn’t need explaining. A few minutes with the sun shining on my face, getting dirt under my nails, running my hands through the lavender, well that’s a feeling so tangibly relaxing that it seems almost sinful.
How do you relax when life builds up on your shoulders?
I would really be interested in ideas you have for relaxing before bed. I find myself rehashing all I’ve studied the minute my head hits the pillow. Sleep is far distant and elusive. But at the same time I know sleep is what I most need during this stressful time…I also know that this stress is not an isolated thing, that academia is a path that will continue to be pressure-filled, as there will be deadlines, job talks, conferences, and all manner of difficulties that I need to get used to. I’m hoping that I can continue to build a storehouse of stress-relieving skills that will serve me now and on into the future….
proclivities
Picture: Close-up of a small purple flower with pink stamens.
Recently we watched the movie “Amazing Grace” (which I highly recommend to each of you). The main character, Wilberforce, realizes that he could easily spend his life enjoying nature–studying spiderwebs and gazing into flowers. He find so much satisfaction in his communion with the natural world. Yet he comes to realize that this isn’t his mission in life. Instead, he becomes a politician and is instrumental in ending the British slave trade.
Some days I feel like I lose myself in a flower. Time flies by while I’m in my garden and I start to only care about growing things. The rest of life seems so mundane in comparison. Yet I also have this feeling that I am supposed to do so much more. That gardening is important, even bedrock, for my life. But it’s not the whole of it. There are books to write, and children to raise, and friends to meet. And the flowers will continue to grow. Whether I am wholly absorbed in them or not.
my cowboy
Dear GameBoy:
So tomorrow is a big day for my big boy. Another birthday! I’ve loaded up a few fun pictures here for you to enjoy, to tell part of the story of how special you are to me and to our family (click on the photo above to see more pics).
You have many passions, but the one that seems to override all of them is your love for other people. You’ve been a devoted big brother and a joy to your Dad and me. Above all, your smile can melt away any grumpiness around you. You have the gift of making others feel happy. And you tell great jokes, too!
One of my favorite memories of you happened when you were just a wee one. You appeared one afternoon in the living room with a cowboy hat and vest on and announced that you was no longer yourself, instead you were “Cowboy Weejeeham!” We soon discovered that the cowboy had many adventures. He appeared often and shared his stories, some of which we’ve recorded in a book. Cowboy had a sidekick, a young boy named Kree, and a horse, and a bird that followed him everywhere. When we relocated from Utah to California, Cowboy Weejeeham and his posse went on ahead of us to clear the way of any potential dangers. We felt so happy to have the brave Cowboy as our loyal family friend!
One thing that makes this birthday year particularly bittersweet for me, is that I can’t help but reflect back to when I turned your same age. Just five days before my birthday I was diagnosed with bone cancer. The day before my birthday I received the news that my leg would be amputated soon. When I was released from the hospital on my ‘special day’ I came home to a house full of balloons, gifts, and friends who’d gathered for a surprise party. What I remember about that day was that I was so ill (having already started chemotherapy) that I was unable to even take a few sips of 7-Up, much less eat cake or any other treats. I couldn’t open my gifts because my arms & hands were bandaged with thick layers of gauze (the chemo caused swollen red lumps and sores where it had leaked from my veins into the surrounding tissue). I appreciated the attention of my friends and family members, but what I most wanted was to rest, to be away from the celebration. To have time to make sense of how my world had completely turned upside down and would never be the same.
Many years later my world completely turned upside down again when you were born, Buddy. It has never been the same again and that is precisely what brings me so much joy now. On the day you were born your father and I learned just how big love can be. And we continue to learn that each new day we spend with you.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY! 🙂
Love,
Mom
berry-to-be
Picture: closeup photo of a small white flower
This past year, because of no rain (whatsoever) during the winter, the blackberry vines that line the garden fences have not grown. I had pretty much given up hope of any blackberry cobbler this spring (usually this time of year we are bringing home berries by the bucketful–we even have the last cup or two of last year’s crop still in our freezer).
However, yesterday I found a small area of thriving blackberry vines flowering near the left side of my front garden fence. So we may not get berries by the pound, but I suspect we’ll still enjoy a few blackberries before the spring is over.
We’ll experience the joy of quality rather than quantity.
it’s a shy one
Picture: close-up of an orange flower
I found this flower, a poppy I believe, in my neighbor’s garden. I just leaned over the fence and snapped this quick photo. It wasn’t quite open all the way, perhaps because the sun wasn’t shining today.