Catching Up

I've a lot to catch up on. I could make a list that is longer than Father Time's beard. Here are last month's

Play Dates ...

Carley, Reg & I began this fun month at the Kings Mountain Art Festival, in the Woodside Hills, an annual event on Labor Day weekend. This is a very high quality art show that benefits the volunteer Kings Mountain Fire Department. Reg started the still life and Carley walked into it so this photo is titled "Still Life Under the Redwoods." They're beautiful together. And funny. 

A neighbor (in one of our brief elevator rides) told me he'd found a beautiful field of sunflowers in Half Moon Bay, close to the grade school. Carley and I took off on the hunt - it's only twelve miles from my house to Half Moon Bay, the Pacific ocean, and fields of flowers, and pumpkins! Lost:  stop and ask kids! We found not only sunflowers and pumpkins, but also another fruit/vegetable stand photo op at Andreotti's adjacent to the flower field. Fruit Stand—Half Moon Bay is posted on the Photos page (see tab at top of this page - click on photo thumbnails to see full shots).

My cousin Barb (an astronomer by night, photographer/caver/trails guide/paddler/dancer by day) stopped on her way home to Hawaii for a weekend - a whole weekend dedicated to kicking up our creative juices. Our first inspiration trip was to the newly opened California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. They've done an amazing design with a living roof, and fresh air (no air conditioning!) through round vents from the roof. See photo page for more pics! Barb goes nowhere without a camera, and this trip she also brought some of her latest photos (she wins awards with them and she's a huge inspiration for me and my snaps) for us to crop, enlarge, and see what shows up! My brother Bob joined us for a local hike into nature (nature is always inspiring), Mills Canyon, in the heart of Burlingame and if you didn't know it was there, you'd drive right past it. Played with macro here. Titled "Make a Wish." See Photos page for more pics and the view from the hills in Burlingame. 

And then the big Steven Forrest retreat  profound teaching for four solid days in the heart of the wine country (the nectar of the Gods & Goddesses)! Lots of magic happened at this event. Great photos of energy orbs showing up in the heightened vibration on that sacred land. The first one I saw was from my deck at dusk. This is a view of the lodge with a large orb hanging over it (it is not the moon). Many many more orbs came later and everyone had their cameras clicking away. See Photos page for more of these. Lasting friendships forged. All the good stuff you want to have happen at an event like that. More to come - I'm still integrating.

A trip to the SF's Ferry Building and the Saturday Farmer's Market with two of my sweetest friends from the Sacramento Valley (Chris and Dana, and they brought along Chris's Uncle Paul his cousin/her Aunt Virginia). What a fun play date! Shopping, talking with strangers who are buying interesting food - and getting a recipe for ravioli stuffed with mushrooms, ricotta, and chestnuts as a reward. Dana has challenged me with a business idea I can't pass up. More to come on this. Photos coming soon of this absolutely glorious day in SF. 

And I've been nominated for a blog award by Joyce Mason - which will take some thinking on my part before I post it. However, see my monthly Highlights on my links pages - Joyce Mason garners two Highlights this month - one on the Astrology links page (NEW), and one on my Favorites! I've known her for years - I did her graphics and layout for the Chironicles newsletter years ago! 

And my writing - also some to post soon. A little at a time. I'm really going to try to post something weekly vs monthly which seems to be the pattern so far. 

Mountain Meditation

I've just spent a wonderful night away at Mountain Home Ranch, near Calistoga CA (click on the Photos tab at the top of this page to see even more of some great shots I got). I went to to this charming, rustic getaway to get away from people, away from my sweet cockatiel who won't leave my shoulder when I'm home, away from the city, work, phones and the computer. It was more than just a desire to spend some time walking the property to see if there were camera walk opportunities for our upcoming retreat, although that was one of my reasons for going before the Steven Forrest AP Retreat (Sept. 25-29) - my first. It was more about deepening my connection to nature, appreciating creation in it's purest form, and slowing down to the point of stillness - meditating. More about practicing wabi-sabi.

It's a working ranch with animals of all sorts. I have a new dog-Goddess  friend, Tyche—named after the Goddess of Fortune (luck and the roll of the dice—she's white w/black dots)—who is touchy about loud and startling sounds, who's a love and follows Suzanne (owner) wherever she goes. See my other pal here who followed me until the fence stopped him. He desperately wished I'd brought him a carrot from the big carrot basket in the dining hall in the lodge. They grow the majority of the organic food they serve — oh my, the luscious fresh sweet corn at dinner that had just been picked that day! I looked down from the 2nd floor balcony, and there were the corn stalks! 

The afternoon I arrived was the hottest day of the year there—almost 100 degrees. Yet the lower level of the lodge was cool and inviting and that was where Suzanne was hanging out with Tyche. We talked out farming, about organic foods, about the largest groups they'd ever had there. I asked her a zillion questions — which she happily answered: the labyrinth? (painted on the tennis court), the 1000 year old Grandmother tree? (a mile and half hike). She walks the property every week and will let me know what great photo ops have just popped up that we can see when we arrive for the retreat! John (owner, Suzanne's husband) came in to announce they had just picked 50 gallons of pears and promptly froze them — which right off will become sugar free sorbets and go into many other goodies. 

After an incredible meal, I turned on the fan in my room, and a read an entire book (a short Elizabeth Peters novel) I'd found in the library (next to the lounge — lower lodge level).  

Next morning, I was up at the crack of dawn, the coolest time of day during the summer. The walking sticks (see Photos/Mountain Meditation) called to me and I set off with my camera, journal, and a map (they have a stack of maps at the counter) of the property. I first walked the labyrinth, headed for Lookout Point, then walked to Lake Orth. Here's what I wrote that morning as I embraced stillness:

I AM the Cup—filled to the brim with warm decaf happiness.

I AM the Lookout Point. Green lush wilderness surrounds me. My fences, for safety's sake, ensure no deadly falls from this high cliff-hanging point.

I AM the maturing mountain, the evergreen tree, the solid rock, the changing sky, the sound of happy voices drifting on the breeze, the dark depth of the gorge, the golden peak of the hills hit by the dawn, the hawk floating gently on thermals, the path ... winding easily downhill from here.  

I AM the lake—dawning on others—reflecting what is projected on me.

HOW TO DO PHOTO SEARCH:

Single click on Photos tab top of this page.

Single click on Mountain Meditation.

Single click on the photo: "Grab a stick..." which will take you to photos larger than thumbnails for this photo file.

Just click on the black area to return to photos when done.

I can't wait - it's just two more weeks until I'm there for five more days!!!! 

Red Door updates

Added to Links Pages:  Highlights of the Month - check each page

Added Contact Tab: Click on tab top of any page. Let me know if you are interested in Intuition Through Art workshops (SF Bay Area) or retreats (Mexico, Spain) 2010.  Or just email me with comments, interests, and creative inspiration! 

Jul-Aug – Memories Already

AUGUST: A brief visit to Portland was heart driven – to see a dear friend, Constance Strawn, display her photography for the first time, to paint a little, and to visit my sister and her new companion Rosie.

ART Constance has taken photos of Women at Work all over the world and it was a packed First Thursday at the Umpqua Bank in Portland. She’s a multi-talented artist – photography, oils, watercolor, home and garden remodel. My last morning with Constance, we (she, Claudia, and I) went to breakfast. Constance follows spirit and we were headed to one restaurant, when she said, “No, we need to go to Cadillac.” At the Cadillac Café, not only was the food fabulous, our waiter—to our great surprise—was Claudia’s childhood neighbor (the boy next door) she hadn’t seen in years (he’d been in New York and she in Holland)! 

My sister packed for a long-time dream trip to the Galapagos Islands, while Rosie was my focus, obviously. As a Taurus (Ferdinand is my Taurean icon—sitting quietly under his tree, smelling the flowers) , I innately know patience, yet not to this degree! Rosie sat for the longest time waiting for birds to show up at the feeder outside her window. And...we did get our naps in! Kittynaps in laps are the best.

CREATIVE CONNECTIONS I met an amazingly creative and energetic woman and fabulous cook (new cookbook just off to her publisher), Orianna Fielding Banks  (author, London's TV interior design maven, and eco-specialist practicing Wabi-Sabi), and her non-typical teen-age son Sasha (meaning he’s not anti-social and he gets along with his mom and her friends even though he's 15) at a BBQ at Pat & Paula's. We had that instant feeling of tribe. She listened to my vision for retreats and has offered her home for a small group to come to Costa Brava! Now I have two sites for future creativity workshops/trips: Intuition Through Art Retreats in Mexico and Spain! I've added a Contact Me page (see the tabs at the top of this post) - let me know if you are interested in creative workshops or retreats.

JULY:

WEDDING Christine and I had adjoining rooms at the beautiful Ryde Hotel on the Sacramento River for Dana and Jeremy’s perfect weather Monday evening wedding in the gazebo. See what can happen when you are the driving force behind a high school reunion? "2 Kids Finally Married!" They’d gone to Prom together. One of the most touching toasts was Jeremy's brother saying how much they’d wanted Dana to be part of their family years ago. Timing is everything.

The wedding put ideas into Chris’s head…she’s working on fixing me up with her Uncle Paul. If he’s like the rest of her family – he’ll be a great guy. Tell me what you think! Should I? Yes or No? Write a comment.

INTENTION CEREMONY Paula sent an invitation to friends and family to her Intention gathering (she and Patrick are building the dream home) and that is how I was told I was going to be “leading the Ceremony.” Eeek. I declined. She talked me into it. Never have done that before—at least not for someone else and definitely not a crowd. Here’s what I came up with for the evening in their empty space, soon to be completely restructured:  Paula set out a scarf on the floor with a Feng Shui bagua of items of deep meaning and intention combined with the Dao, and I led a visualization that combined the 4 directions and a property cleansing from the Perelandra workbook - requesting the Archangels to oversee the work. Everyone attending spoke their intention for them, and then we feasted and drew on the walls (like happy kids) the things we saw for them in their new home (good friends, good luck beetles, abundance, etc.). Powerful evening. With gratitude and thanks to Raphael, Michael, Uriel, and Gabriel and all of those who had gone before on this land.

There's been no time for writing. It's decided...I must go to NATURE and WRITE!  

JUNE = Jeans. Union. Necessary. Extreme.

EXTREME... The kids came for a week and seven of us in a one bedroom apartment made their well-oiled family machine really obvious. Not a speck of drama, not one fight over the bathroom — just FUN. Witty Alixis, sent to get Kaysie out of the shower, pounded on the door hollering, "EVACUATE, EVACUATE!"

I've had it with extreme roller coaster rides. Vertigo is aptly named.

Sponge Bob is even too wild for my blood – next time I'll sit in seats that don’t move. You can see Amanda is just one of the kids – these theme park excursions are always her idea!

NECESSARY...Art is vital to my well being. The next weekend it was back to Locke to pick up a painting I bought from Chris Spencer titled “Laura’s Garden” – my name, my mother’s name, and the type of garden I’ve always dreamed of having. Sad time. The Down by the River Gallery has closed. Yet Spence is still painting, and the town remains quaint as ever: LockeNess - Things Ordinary & Odd. 

I miss the classes with the kids, but now I have one of Spence’s paintings hanging on my living room wall to take me back there every time I look at it. It’s also a focus board – my Laura garden – someday soon.

The portrait is of the "Artist NOT Starving"gripping my money tightly in his fist, at lunch in the back of Al the Wop’s.

UNION... Last weekend in June, Joyce (my partner in Gossamer Rings), Kay and I spent a day touring the Mountain Home Ranch retreat center in Calistoga where we are hosting the Steven Forrest Apprenticeship teaching retreat in September. What a calming, relaxing, union with nature location. Now I want a weekend away all by myself – to go on a camera walk, to paint a little, to sit in a rocking chair on that deck for a day, to be one with nature, with spirit, communion with mySelf. The view from the upper deck of the lodge overlooks a cabin and the conference building.

JEANS...We came to work, at the end of the month, to find giant ads all over our buildings in the Levi Plaza. People stopped walking to read the beginning of the Levi ad launch, a message that had not yet been completed - top layer will read: “I Am the New American Pioneer.”This was just a taste of even more exciting surprises to come... See next post: JULY.

It’s been awhile since I’ve been blogging and my friends are nagging me. I've been extremely busy, and high with life for many months. I hit a downward spiral this past week. What goes up seems to invariably come down – in this case, my energy. Rest helps, and this morning as I happily started in again, looking over the photos I’d taken, thinking about all the fun I’d had, all the places I'd been, I found this quote pinging me as the emails arrived: 

"Only one thing has to change for us to know happiness in our lives: where we focus our attention."—Greg Anderson