Questions and a gift

Wow. I think I just won a blogger award! It is from my generous daughter. I am so new at this that I'm not sure I deserve it, but it's nice to have. Thank-you, Athena!
She also sent some questions I am supposed to answer - uh oh - I will try to do my best. Here they are, I love questions, and my daughter is so good at thinking them up.

1. What is your favorite book of all time?
"Gone With The Wind" I have fond memories of getting completely obsessed with reading it when I was around 14 and traveling on a concert tour with my mother. At the time we were in Amsterdam. We had a beautiful, spacious hotel room (with a crystal chandelier!) and I stayed there, like a hermit, reading my book the whole time. I think I missed the concerts too. The crocuses were in bloom and also had good food at the hotel, but I never saw anything of the city. Oh wait, I remembere Mom dragged me to the Rjyksmuseam to look at some wonderful old paintings, Rembrant and others, but all I could think of was Rhett Butler!

2. Where in the world do you most want to visit? Why?
Right now, I'd really like to visit Paris. This was another place I went with my mom, and loved. Now I'd like to see it as an adult and with my husband.

3.Craziest thing you've ever done?
Oh, you would have to ask this! I don't do that many crazy things, but probably pulling up roots and moving to Colorado, sight unseen, would take the cake.

4.One celebrity you absolutely cannot stand?
Dennis Quaid - sorry. I don't know why, he just looks too smarmy and his movies aren't very good and I think he's a bad actor.

5. What do you most like about yourself?
That I am a compassionate person.

6. What do you wish you could change about yourself?
I'd rather be a pear shape than an apple shape - thanks Dad!

7. What job would you love to have for a day?
I'd like to be a buyer for a ladies upscale clothing store.

8. What superhero power would you like to possess?
Gosh, I really don't know my super-heroes very well. I guess it would be Catwoman, because she was cool. But really I'd like to have the ability to fly and become invisable if I could, oh also to read really really fast and do incrdible math problems in my head. I don't think Catwoman did any of those things, so...who did?

9. What person (living or dead) would you most like to meet?
I'd like to meet Jesus, you know, just to ask him about God and how he did his healing work.

10. What was one of the best moments of your life?
When I gave birth to you, Athena!

Wishcasting Wednesday

WISHCASTING WEDNESDAY: THE QUESTION: What do you wish to experience?

MY WISH: I WISH TO EXPERIENCE THE REST OF MY LIFE FREE OF FEAR. Specifically, I would like to heal myself of all my phobias!

My mother's day

A huge bouquet of tulips and iris for Mother's day from my son!

Mother's day was very special this year. First, was a trip to my daughter's area for a high tea. She knows that I love teas. This was at a quaint old house/teashop that served delicious food all in a Victorian atmosphere of antique treasures. We feasted on sweet treats and rich egg salad sandwiches, that were divine, while catching up with our girl-talk.

The eyes are the "window to the soul"...my daughter, Athena's eyes, that speak 1000 words.



Then we drove up higher to her house. We reviewed some yoga poses from the book she gave me. This funny road sign illustrates the crazy drive, as well as some of the seemingly impossible yoga poses.


Before we knew it, we were hungry for dinner, and she made the best vegetarian dinner imaginable! It was stuffed zucchini and a spicy Moroccan style carrot salad. I could not believe how filling and satisfying it was and all without hardly any calories. It's also best for my "dosha" which I have found out, thanks to the yoga book, is called "kapha" and I am not supposed to eat meat and wheat.



Then we watched at least two episodes of the TV show "lost" which is her favorite show and one I've never seen. I liked it. It was very exciting, a bit scary, but not too bad.I'm sorry the show isn't going to be on anymore, but there will probably be reruns.
Then it was time to get me back to my quarters for the night. This was a fantastic small lodge in the area. My room was built in fragrant knotty-pine, had a down quilt, and was the cleanest place I've ever stayed at. I drank so much tea during the day that I almost didn't sleep a wink. I also suspect it was because my hubby wasn't there. Old couples get like that. It also snowed during the night. This is a picture of one of the many stained glass lamps in the beautiful room:


Then next morning we had a fantastic breakfast at a favorite place of my daughter's. Being a vegetarian, she knows all the coolest places to eat. I was able to get foods to satisfy my "dosha" and they had great health drinks too. Green ones, and many other fruit combinations (just like types of yoga poses) it took forever just to decide on one.

Then it was time to make the drive to take me back home.



Next day my husband surprised me with some long stemmed roses for mother's day and he made dinner! After all of this, I felt like a queen!



Then the surprise delivery of the tulips from my son!

All in all, it was a fantastic mother's day! I feel so blessed to have such wonderful children!

The matriarchal tree of life

Tomorrow is Mother's Day, so to observe this day, here is a photo display of pictures of the special women in my own maternal tree of life:




My beautiful daughter, Athena-Marie. So far, the last in a line of very strong women!
5-7-10 At our mother's day high tea, Colorado.




Me, Laurel, circa 1967. Pastel painted in New York City on tour with my mother.




My mother, Phyllis, a famous concert harpist. Portrait painted in oil, circa 1970. California.



My grandmother, Kate. Painting from a playbill for the play, "The Volunteer Organist" circa 1920. She was a stage actress and a Christian Science Practitioner who lived to be 100.




My great, great, great grandmother, Maria-Louise. Painted in oil, circa 1850. Illinois. She was a housewife and mother of four sons.

"...in a time lacking in truth and certainty and filled with anguish and despair, no woman should be shamefaced in attempting to give back to the world, through her work, a portion of its lost heart." (Louise Bogan)

Love to you all, Athena-Marie, Laurel, Phyllis, Kate, Maria-Louise, and any grandmothers from the past that I may have omitted. You all had huge hearts and their loving effects beat on, still. A very Happy Mother's Day.

Springs concerto In E flat

Wishcasting Wednesday: What rules do I want to make and or break?
My Wish is to be able to break my unspoken, but always painfully obvious rule of having to make everyone happy all of the time, and making a rule that saying "No" is okay. (I'm copying this wish from Rochelle and I hope she doesn't mind!)

It's Wednesday and that's a good day. It smells like spring today. There is just that certain scent that spring evokes. It's different than the scent of winter, summer or fall. Scents and sounds trigger so many memories and emotions. When I smell the fresh scent of Spring I am immediately transported back home and at Sunday School at Easter. Easter used to be my favorite holiday so the scents of Spring tend to make me feel content and loved.

Scent is processed in the brain by the limbic system, or what is commonly called, our "animal brain." It is the part of humans that is tied to instinctual behavior. It is a part of the brain to which the nose and sinuses directly feed. That is why one can change the way you feel just by smelling something. Aromatherapy in action.

The scents of spring pour into my open window now. The moist, melting, damp smell of the earth when the snow has finally disappeared. The eager bursting into life of each tree branch. Each tree has it's own scent probably related to it's pollination. The pine trees give off clouds of vanilla-smelling green pollen that settles onto everything. The aspens we planted have grown tall and lanky like adolescents. They reach to the sky with straight, skinny arms all gangley and knobby. The have a sweet, raw scent. The scrub-oak is our final gauge for the true end of winter: when the leaf-buds appear, we know the snows are over. The branches are still bare, dry and skeletal as though dead. It pains me to admit, we may still have more snow coming. The scrub oak knows but I don't; how can that be?

I'm more aware of my breathing now. This is rather important for a living thing, and I've held my breath way too much over my life. I stood tall this morning and took lots of deep, deep breaths. How good that felt. The lingering croupy cough I had all winter has finally gone away. I haven't done yoga for a while, but remember the way I used to feel after yoga breathing: so high and light, I could fly. That's the way the air of spring makes me feel. I think, as humans, we are part of the earth and respond to the seasons more than we know.

It's like the invisible pull birds must feel when they take flight for the northern climates they'd abandoned in the fall.

The birds have returned to our mountain. Their sounds wake me up with a smile each morning. I never appreciated birds in California, like I do now in Colorados changeable climate. It just goes to show how we can take such miraculous life forgranted when it is seen every day. I opened my kitchen window this morning and saw on the closest fir tree a pair of Chickadees are conversing and hopping about. I imagine they have come back for the seeds in our bird feeder we put out each spring. This sounds strange, but I was going to go out and tell them to be patient, but they probably already know that! They've probably seen how their favorite perch, the scrub oak, has yet to bud. Suddenly they are joined by a large, shiny black and white Magpie. Already the birds are claiming their territory. The chickadees fly away with wings moving in quick small bursts through the warming air as the magpie preens its blue/black shiny tuxedo feathers. Will the magpies again try to build their huge nest right in front of my kitchen window? Then the fox will probably be hanging out in my backyard again. I call him Franklin the fox and he has inspired quite a few stories with his amusing but sly antics. The foxes stayed all winter, screaming with haunting shrieks under full "wolf" moons.

Even the night sky looks different now that it's spring. Orion no longer reclines over our roof, as if to guard us from the dangers of winters bleakness, wielding his star- studded blade. Now when I look up to the skylight which focuses the night sky as a telescope, I see more stars. They were always there but hidden by clouds. Two stars in particular seem to orbit around each other. Often they are parallel to each other and sometimes not. Come spring, these two stars are our nightly silent companions. It's somehow comforting to know they are always there. Did you know that stars make a sound too? It is the vast tone of silence. Completely enveloping. I can only stand to listen for a short time. It is so loud, in a way it's deafening. I don't know why this is, perhaps it is just the physiological effect of bending ones head back to look up to the heavens. It makes the blood rush to places it hasn't been for a while. Maybe we need to look up more often. The two little stars are just a drop in the bucket of life. Really, they are huge pulsing giants. Yet they look like two tiny pin-pricks, taken for granted by we ants scurrying around our little planet. They illustrate how life is never how it seems.

The stars make humanities sense of self-importance disappear into insignificance. The silence after the cacophony of life shouts, in a whisper, about God, and our meaning in the scheme of things. There is so much in this concerto of life that we can not even sense or understand. Perhaps we just need to listen more and tune up by breathing in the scents of life. Maybe we'll make sense of it, eventually, but for now the main thing is to listen and to breath, especially through the change of each new season. Especially now,

into this Spring.

Dancing with the Stars...

I am feeling a bit more positive today. It is spring (again, and finally!) And we were able to watch "Dancing with the Stars" yesterday, which we have been following religiously. This is the ONLY thing we ever watch on TV anymore. But first, I must rant.

TV has become so focused on sex and violence, that we really find it offensive. Or is this because I'm getting older now? I don't think so. Where are the old warm-hearted shows that used to entertain us? Why does everything have to focus on who is killing whom, or having sex with whom? It's stupid, juvenile and damaging to one's values. Those old sitcoms were funny, and it wasn't fun at other peoples' expense. It's like the old musical/comedies. Why did they have to disappear? Maybe because there is nobody writing them well enough anymore? I wonder if it is art reflecting society or society influencing art? Are we all being reduced to the lowest common denominator?

I have to admit that even Dancing with the Stars tries to be sexy at all costs, and lately the shows seem more focused on who has the biggest breasts, then on dancing. And I love dancing. I'm sure there are people who love the scantily clad bosoms, but they can always see that somewhere else. Ballroom dancing is such a joy. It's one of my favorite forms of exercise. You have nice music to do it to - and I love waltzes and songs by old blue eyes and Nat King Cole -and it's really the only thing you can do and be dressed formally anymore, and I love getting dressed up, and it's something you do with a partner of the opposite sex. So what's not to like?

I probably look like a real kook when I'm dancing, because it's the one thing I do where I seem to constantly smile. I just smile. I can't help it. Dancing is just such a kick.

Dancing with the stars, of course, has to make a SHOW out of it, so there are judges and point systems, and a call-in to vote for one's favorite. That all makes it interesting too. If you haven't watched it, they have professional ballroom dancers who are paired up with some famous person; they are given two dances to learn a week; each dance is to good music; they dance and are judged by three judges who are all professional dancers themselves; their scores are then added to the call-in votes. The dancing is done on Monday nights show, and then the results are presented on Tuesday nights show. That's tonight. Hurray.

Of the competitors who are left, about five couples who haven't been voted off, I think either the girl who is a pussy-cat doll (give me a break) or the olympic ice skater, who will win. The pussy-cat doll is really an excellent dancer, and the olympic skater is great too. We've found that, of course. the "stars" who have previously done some dancing, always do the best, and end up the winner. It also helps what pro they are paired with. Some of the pros are much better choreographers than others. And that is a very important part of the dances, as I said, they don't just dance, for it's more of an act, or a show, but always "strictly ballroom".

The olympic skater is often too balletic for some of the less graceful dances that call for more hip action (which men seem to find difficult). And the pussy-cat doll, though moving with good balletic lines, is just too sexy, like she's doing a strip-tease or something. Of course that goes over well, so I'm sure she'll win. So why isn't Pamela Anderson going to win, since she is by far the winner in the biggest breast contest? She is still in the running. Lately I've noticed that she isn't trying too hard to be Marilyn Monroe anymore. It was really too much. Like when the show started, Pamela, even when standing still, was writhing around all the time. It must be difficult being an aging sex symbol, as my husband defended her by saying. Ahem. I guess you can't just be a normal person, you've just got to writhe, because you're soooo sexy. Revolting. Even the pussy-cat-doll, and I'm sorry I forgot her name, doesn't writhe in self-inspired ecstasy and appears more normal! I mean writhe during the "dance", but not when standing and waiting for the judges results, for heavens sake!

But anyway, we've watched Dancing with the stars since it first came on, and the show has influenced our tastes in movies and exercise. Here is a list of some of our favorite movies that are about dancing which I know you might like:

• 
  
  
  Strictly Ballroom



• 
  
  
  Dirty Dancing



• 
  
  
  Shall We Dance? (American version better than Japanese version upon which it's inspired.)

Watch them, they are all great, and you won't be able to stop smiling! (Dancing has gotta be good for you!)

Sunday Stealing questions.

Sunday Stealing: The Question Meme


01) Are you currently in a serious relationship? Answer: YES

02) What was your dream growing up? Answer: First to be an Astronomer, then in my teens, to be an airline stewardess.

03) What talent do you wish you had? Answer: I wish I could paint, draw, be artistic.

04) If I bought you a drink what would it be? Answer: Black tea with milk and sugar.

05) Favorite vegetable? Answer: Fresh corn on the cob.

06) What was the last book you read? Answer: It was called "Atlas Shrugged" by Ann Rynd. didn't like it.

07) What zodiac sign are you?Answer: Capricorn and Capricorn rising.

Piercings? Explain where. Answer: I've had my ears pierced a couple of times. That is it, forever!

r: I never hang up my clothes (until I can't stand it and then work all day hanging them up.)

10) If you saw me walking down the street would you offer me a ride?Answer: probably not.

11) What is your favorite sport? Answer: I love to wartch football games.

12) Do you have a Pessimistic or Optimistic attitude?Answer: Very pessimistic, but I'm trying to change that.

13) What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator with me? Answer: Introduce myself and have a conversation.

14) Worst thing to ever happen to you?Answer: to be diagnosed with MS.

15) Tell me one weird fact about you. Answer: That I used to be a harpist.

16) Do you have any pets? Answer: yes, a parakeet.

17) What if I showed up at your house unexpectedly? Answer: I'd be polite but freaked out.

18) What was your first impression of me?Answer: A bit weird but I never thought about it much.

19) Do you think clowns are cute or scary? Answer: Neither, they are just dumb.

20) If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be?Answer: I'd want to be more curveacious.

21) Would you be my crime partner or my conscience? Answer: probably your conscience.

22) What color eyes do you have? Answer: very dark brown.

23) Ever been arrested?Answer: No.

24) Bottle or can soda?Answer: Neither, I never drink it. But if I did, I like bottled. Stuff tastes bad in cans.

25) If you won $10,000 today, what would you do with it? Answer: buy a used car and invest the rest.

26) What's your favorite place to hang out at?Answer: the library or Starbucks.


27) Do you believe in ghosts?Answer: Yes, I've seen some.

28) Favorite thing to do in your spare time?Answer: read a good book.

29) Do you swear a lot?No.

30) Biggest pet peeve? Television.

31) In one word, how would you describe yourself? Compassionate.

32) Do you believe/appreciate romance?Yes.

33) Favorite and least favorite food?Favorite: Indian food. Least: Liver.

34) Do you believe in God? Yes, my own version of.

35) Will you join us this week for Wednesday Wickedness? (Bud has on a mission to make this Wednesday's most popular meme. Maybe, I'll have to see what it is all about first.

Please play this week so I can stop promoting it.)