Pandemic Preparedness

Should the World Health Organization indicate that any of the following conditions are threatening to pose serious concern, you might want to hang with me and the purse:

Gastritis

Migraine

Rhinitis

Sinusitis

Influenza

Halitotis

Tonsilitis

Dermatitis

Cosmetic deficiencies

Sterilization needs

Skin abraisions

Gingivitis

Affluenza

Spiritual emptiness

ANY condition of the lips

Should we need shelter, I have the tape measure and nylon to secure it for us. Should we need levity, I have some great little cartoons, Music? Covered. Face mask? That hanky should work. Stay calm. ( I have some help for that if you need it.) Everything will be okay.

Wednesday Link Love

Things kind of shook out in pairs this week. Like, walls for instance...........there's this one, and then there would be this one.....

This gorgeous Spring sighting , and these......

I am mesmerized by these beautiful beautiful colors and people...........India and Yemen

And these beautiful maps.....london and boston

Two recipes I want to try- this one, and I'd make one whole pan of them for my sister, and then I'd like to try my hand at these.

Two absolutely lovely things that will sap away time if you aren't careful- I swear this one makes my blood pressure drop to within normal limits! And this is mighty fun and relaxing too.

And finally, a couple of videos along the same line........here and here

What Money Can't Buy

I wanted to use 8 Things Money Cannot Buy for my 8 things this week......but then I found this, and it's so great, I decided the kindest thing I could do tonight is route you right over to Marc and Angel. Read and enjoy, and leave me a comment about something that you would add to the list.......
I would add that money cannot buy:

• Family wisdom and tradition passed on and on with a huge weight of importance
• Chiayim's dimples and the sound of his voice, Shameka's gorgeous eyes and her great sensibility, Kendra's equally gorgeous eyes and her enthusiasm and kindness to others
• the deep tenderness of knowing you are God's beloved child
• health
• the esteem and trust of your friends and family
• your children's love and respect
• a remedy for grief or depression
• another Earth

Anxious to hear yours!

Music Monday

I had a great song/video in mind to share tonight, but youtube is down for maintenance. So, in lieu of that, I thought I would share my 10 most recently acquired iTunes songs.

Girls with Guitars- Wynonna Judd LYLE SINGS BACK UP ON THE CHORUS WITH HER!!

Rocket Man- Donovan Hiller

Iga Bani- Ali Farka Toure'

Homeless- Sarah Mclaughlin and Ladysmith Black Mombozo

Easter Song- Keith Green

Give me Jesus- Sara Watkins

Emmanual- Chris Boti- I recommend this one no matter what your tastes are.

Wildewood Spring- Eliza Gilkyson

Last Date- Floyd Kramer

Come on Get Higher- Matt Nathkanson

As you can see, I'm all over the map! Give a listen to a few of these if you don't know them.

When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant. ~Author Unknown

I finally got the courage to venture into my back yard yesterday after a long cold season of neglect. Weeds abounded, but these are the young green ones that look almost like something you meant to have there. And there sat these two old friends- a little worse for the wear, but keeping up a brave front. I enjoyed my time there so much that I paid it another visit today, and tonight have been looking at seed catalogs.

I taped up a picture this week of the same back yard in 1999, the year of it's heyday. I went out every morning first thing and spent a good 30 to 45 minutes weeding and calling each plant by name and pinching things and moving things. The picture was taken on June 28. One month later, I very suddenly became a mom. I've hardly cast a glance back there since. I've been growing more important and more beautiful things.

As I am grappling with sending Shameka off in the fall, knowing Kendra is just a matter of steps behind her, and having already long been discharged by Chiayim, this may be the year to plant and tend and weed again. I'll plant perrineals this time!

On my daughter's 18th birthday

To a Daughter Leaving Home
Linda Pastan

When I taught you

at eight to ride

a bicycle, loping along

beside you

as you wobbled away

on two round wheels,

my own mouth rounding

in surprise when you pulled

ahead down the curved

path of the park,

I kept waiting

for the thud

of your crash as I

sprinted to catch up,

while you grew

smaller, more breakable

with distance,

pumping, pumping

for your life, screaming

with laughter,

the hair flapping

behind you like a

handkerchief waving

goodbye.

I first read this poem when Shameka was 8 and was learning to ride a bike. Today she turned 18, and we gave her a fitting gift- a new bike. I feel called like an evangelist to tell every mother of every 8 year old to look long and hard at them as they ride away.

And Shameka- don't forget your helmet. I love you

Continuing a theme.....

of party ideas from the girl who never gives or goes to parties!!!
Zange was turning 21 so her sister got this great idea for her surprise party. She made an instuctional video showing how to do this dance. Imagine Zange's surprise? Do you think anyone will forget Zanbe's bday? Read the whole story here http://jessiesharingthecaring.blogspot.com/2009/04/dance.html

8 Things

8 Things I'm looking forward to right now.....
1. The Derby Parade- this is one of my favorite traditions, carried into my adult life from my teen years. I love that my mother started this, that she thought nothing of taking us out of school so that we could stake out our spot early, and that the waiting was as fun as the parade. I get so so sad on the occasional year when the weather is just intolerable. And it has to be pretty bad to be intolerable. Since we moved downtown, I like to sit on my porch during the early afternoon and watch as all of the marching band buses line up on our street.
2. Shameka's prom. She wasn't going. Then she was. Then she wasn't. And now she is, and I've suggested that this be her final answer. She's going with a big group of kids and I think she will have a really nice time. Now to find a dress and shoes and figure out all of the logistics!
3. Doing something/anything in my yard, maybe even tomorrow. And it's not that I'm looking forward to the work so much, but that I'm looking forward to breaking through the wall that I've been banging against the last couple of years, always feeling defeated when it comes to keeping up with anything in or around my house. My goal for this year is to either get back into gardening or to give myself the grace to say it's just not something I'm enjoying and set it aside rather than spend the entire summer feeling guilty and embarrassed about it.
4. My mother is going to Hawaii in June with my sister and her family. I can hardly wait for her to go, and would give a million dollars to see her reaction to all that she sees. She's very excited and I am over the moon happy that she's getting to do something she has dreamed of for years.
5. Shameka's graduation. Don't' get me wrong- I'm not loving the fast track we seem to be on now toward college and moving her into the dorm. But she has been ready for college life for years. She has become one of my best friends over this past year, and I miss her already, but I also know that she loves home and her family. She tells me all of the time that she is going to stay close to us and I believe she will.
6. Deacons retreat in May. We are going back again this year to a pretty little farm in Waddy where the owners have made this wonderful hospitality house from an old barn. Last year I got to go in one of the bedrooms and have complete silence for an hour and I read and prayed and rediscovered the sound of my own still small voice and I loved it so so much. Can't wait to go there again!
7. School getting out. It's nice to get a break from structure and routine. By August, we will welcome structure back into our lives, but we love the fluid time of summer break.
8. May 12- the opening date this year for the Phoenix Hill Farmer's Market! Yay! Welcome back farmer friends! Welcome back to the extravagant amazing meals prepared from our purchases on Tuesday nights!

Mother Dear 04/09

I'll be taking Cheryl to Mother Dear's later today. I so love our Friday afternoons in Mother Dear's kitchen. She is a wonderful storyteller and I"m trying to get a few of her stories on video for Chiayim to have to show his children. Gotta love this little story!

Wednesday Link Love

I wish I had known about muffin tin meals when my kids were younger. I just don't think they'd go for it now........but I'm filing this idea for the grandkids! Be sure to scroll all the way down the page to see all of her great ideas!

I know this is a glorified baby pool, but ever since I've seen it, I've wanted it....

I can do this....maybe not with sea glass, but with something!

I could do this too, but Beth could do it so much better!

Shameka and I are going to make one of these for her dorm room.

You might think from reading this blog that I actually give parties....but I really only like to look at party "stuff" like these

And you may notice a theme that I have with chalkboard paint! Love these!!

Great ideas to get you going on an art journal

Tiny House Fantasy #427

Ohhhhhh......if this little sweetie were mine! I would invite a friend or two over for tea, I would spend every rainy afternoon in it, I would give out little day passes to all of my friends to redeem on their saddest or most tired days, of course I would take naps in it, and I would feel so happy and loved in those little beds! If within the next three short days I can figure out how to get the money, how to understand how much money I actually would need, and how to get it to America, that little baby is mine. Expect your coupon for a day pass in the mail soon.
In lieu of that, you can bid on it yourself here.

Music Monday

I have carried a ticket stub in my wallet since May 20, 1978. I saw Harry at the Macauley on that night, on stage and then after the show when he stood giving autographs for hours to benefit his work for hunger relief. The ticket was a whopping $7.50 with half of that going to his charitable works. No other concert, not even Lyle!, has ever been more wonderful than that concert. And when Harry dropped down and sat on the edge of the stage and talked to us about hunger issues in America, it was a true awakening for me. By the end of the show he had the whole crowd on their feet with our arms around each other singing, "All my life's a circle".
Most folks can think of where they were and how they felt when they heard Elvis had died. For me, I remember the moment I heard that Harry had been killed. It still makes me sad.

Moonlight Barn by PD Bull

These good words from Renita Weems in Listening for God:

Whatever spirituality is, it is not something to be discovered. It is something to be recovered- something you misplace and recover a thousand times in a lifetime. Nor is belief in God, mystery, or prayer something one either possesses or doesn't. Rather, belief is something one tries continually to keep oneself open to, accessible to, or something one continuously refuses to open oneself up to.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Happy Birthday Dear Friend

Today is Donna's birthday, and Ive been thinking of her all day and of the great gift she is to me, and to this world.

And isn't it an amazing and interesting world that has molded our friendship? Donna lived in Louisville- maybe 40 or more years ago? I'm not sure just when, but more than 30 anyway. She became best friends with my very dear freind Faye while living here. For years after Donna moved away to Wisconsin I knew all about Donna because of Faye's long distance but very well tended friendship with her. I met her a couple of times when she visited.

I am not sure when she and I "connected" via email. I'm not sure why- neither of us are big on passing on jokes or prayers or anything like that via email to people we don't know well. I do know that for the better part of 10 years, maybe longer (do NOT call me if you want a real historian) I've had almost daily contact with her. The dynamics have shifted here and there- adding in facebook and blogs to our methods of communicating. And because our friendship takes place during the late late night and very early morning hours , each of us keyng away in a dark house while our families sleep, Donna is probably more aware of what is going on in not only my life but my heart than friends I see daily.

Part of this is because of Donna's warmth and her kindness to endure probably way more than she wants to hear. The other part, the part I can't quite name or put my finger on, has so much to do with ours being a "friendship of letters". We include photos and poems and recipes, we plunk out a few words when we are so sad or sick or tired that it's the best we can do, we are not burdened with calendar fatigue as we try to find a date we could possibly get together for lunch. At the end of my day, at the beginning of hers, we "show up".

And so, today I feel so so rich for the gift of her friendship. I won't eat a piece of her cake or raise a glass and touch it to hers, but I am able to visualize it- probably much more like a Hallmark movie in my mind than it really ends up being.

Happy birthday to my only Mensa member friend, to the grandmother every little boy wishes he had, to a delightful gardner, a hearty Wisconsinite, and my very treasured friend. Love, sue

Vids!

We had a viral video night at the church tonight and it was great fun. Folks submitted their favorite youtube videos and my friend Kevin put together a play list and it made for a truly fun (and free!) evening. And so, for my 8 things tonight I have chosen 8 videos I love, most of them off tonights playlist. Enjoy!

1. Of course, Charlie and his biting brother

2. Cute kid and cookies

3. And the cutest kid ever!

4. Gotta have some pug love

5. And a tiny bit more pug

6. Gotta love this song, these folks

7. Love this teacher and the way his kids feel about themselves because of him

8. And this one was a new one to me tonight, and the whole crowd really got into it.

Where I'm From

I've seen this batted around a few places for several years and have always meant to sit down and write my own, and am finally getting around to it. You can read the background and see the template here. Try it- it's very fun to do!

Where I'm From

I am from one way streets, from Dr. K and my mother's apple dumplings.

I am from the shotgun houses, close and long, the porches filled with music and laughter.

I am from the flaming Cosmos, the Clematis Will Goodwin, the honeysuckle hugging the porch tightly.

I am from Sunday naps and watching "the Crusade", from Mattie and Hattie and the Singletons and Miltons of Devils Hollow Hill.

I am from busy hands, the crochet hook and the cows that need milking and the meals that need to be served. I am from the tapping of the Morse code and the hands that kept the machine running, smoothly and slowly.

From a welcome table where it's better to have too much than not enough and if your left hand itches, somebody's coming with a hole in their britches.

I am from a warm and tender place where requesting #17 at the Sunday night hymn sing always brought an honest measure of Amazing Grace, and from a scrappy storefront that is all things fair and subversive and all love.

I am from infant baptism and ritual and God's hands and feet so present that I could do nothing but trust God's heart.

I'm from Eastwood and Clifton Heights, apple pie with caramel on top and corn- oh, the corn!

I'm from my sister singing Down In The Boondocks and Mean Pills and Michael Row Your Boat Ashore.

I am from Eastwood Christian Church and Aunt Margaret's farm, from Christmas dinners where the men ate first, and I am from Phoenix Hill, a litany of call and response as I walk the block and call the names of all who live there.

I am from deep roots and big wide branches, and I have become where my children come from.

Wednesday Link Love

Found these great business cards over at How About Orange
I run with a tie-dye lovin' crowd- got to give these cupcakes a try!
I guess my kids are too old to have known this book, but the movie sure looks fun!
Wouldn't be Wednesday without something that saps your time away!
This is a sweet site.
My new plan of attack for the Sunday night blues and insomnia....
I cannot stop thinking about this.....I want it!!!! Not even sure what I'd do with it, but I want it!
And I'm dreaming of having one of these parties....

Food!

I go through spells where all I want to do is look at/find/try new recipes and I've been on a roll with that. If I had the time and/or the ingredients, here are a few things I'd be cooking up today. Want to come over?!

We can start with this guacamole....

Cuban sandwiches are very popular in this house, so I think we might like Cuban pizza this a lot....

This makes me almost think I could make real tamales....

And we can finish off with one of these tarts.

Bona Appetit!!!

Easter2009

See below, where this was posted at first but then disappeared!

Jeff Street Easter

We have a traditioin at Jeff Street, starting out on Easter with dark cloth on the windows and no color in the room with worship moving toward this great great celebration. No surprise to anyone who knows me, but every time I see that conga line while people are singing We Are Marching in the Light of God.........I cry. Too too dear to bear.
Before we totally leave Easter, check out my friend Suzanne's blog entry for Easter............http://queenoffun101.blogspot.com/

Dancing to the beat of the Resurrection Song!

Goodness is Stronger Than Evil, by Desmond Tutu

Goodness is stronger than evil,

love is stronger than hate,

light is stronger than darkness,

life is stronger than death,

victory is ours through him who loved us.

8 Things

8 Places I love to be

(Not in order, and certainly not the only places I love- just the ones I have on my heart tonight.)

My front porch- It's the center of my universe. When Shawn and I were looking for a neighborhood to plant our lives in, one of the things we were looking for was an urban neighborhood where people still sat on their porches in the evening. Sometimes folks gravitate to our porch, sometimes we all sit on our own porches and talk back and forth. One of my favorite photos is one that Cindy BK took one night after the community had eaten dinner. Donna and I are on the porch talking on one side, Chiayim and Jordan on the other. Sara is sitting on the steps, and Kendra and Shameka were chasing Lydia and Amos in the front yard. A snapshot of my happiness.

My mother's house- I love to be there. Although it is not the house I grew up in, it is a house where I am always my mother's child.

Lucille Grant Park- I dreamed of this scrappy little neighborhood park long before it came to be. That little patch of land once had a little house on it, which Shawn tore down- a job that took him months but that he took a lot of pride in finishing. The park itself is a great example of a colabrotive effort between the neighborhood and New Directions Housing and a group of Presbyterian youth groups. The first summer I went over and sat on the bench there every night, just so so happy that it had finally happened.

Dave and Cindy's front room- Once dubbed the "dance hall" room because it is big enough to contra dance in, it is also now big enough to house a lot of fun kid stuff and a huge welcoming table where the community group has shared so many wonderful meals and great stories. And the community garden just outside the window!

Camp Kavanaugh- My foundation at Kavanaugh is years of summer camp meetings there in the big open air tabernacle. For the past ten years, it has been the home of our church fall retreat- an event the kids and I look forward to all year long. I have always loved it because even when the kids were little, they could hop out and run with their friends and as long as they showed up for meals and bedtime, you knew they were safe and having adventures. My favorite thing to do at fall retreat is to get there first, then lay on my bed in my room with a window open and listen to all of the other folks arrive. I love hearing their cars crunch down the driveway and hear their voices as they unpack and settle in, and my heart welcomes each one.

My sister's house- Any of her houses. Because where her house is, is where she is.

My Aunt Elaine's house- Nothing but the best of memories, no matter where her house has been. Always a pantry full of all the ingredients for her to whip up something wonderful. Full hot breakfast in the morning while listening to Barnie Arnold give the farm report. Mamaw whispering the words as she read her Bible. Playing with Tom Dooley. Staying up all night watching The Crusade for Children. Christmas Day. Oh, the best Christmas Days. No place better than Aunt Elaine's!

The Bodega- I have always wanted a neighborhood "place" and Bodega has just become that for me. So warm and cozy on a winter's Saturday. An arm chair so comfortable that I call it The Lap of God. In the summer, the Farmers Market outside and cold Havanna Mojito inside. Wonderful easy folks who work there and who make you feel glad to be there. Lots of productive meetings there, and lots of good times with friends too.

( How neat to look back at these and see that half of them are right here in my sweet neighborhod!)

Good Friday

Good FridayBy Kathy Coffey

It pulls at some deep corner

this scene of mother

holding battered child,

cradling a son become a worm.

The hair she had combed,

blood-matted the silken skin, gashed.

"What have you done to him?" turned to

"At least you can do no more."

Blackened nails, limp arms

willingly pinned,

energy drained from one who feared he could not do enough

-all lost to the weariness of the long dying.

In crushed silence, we enter

the empty night of those

who murdered God, vowing we will

not add another splinter to that cross.

Maundy Thursday

.........But how would I react, I wonder
If You pointed to a basin of water
And asked me to wash the calloused feet
Of a bent and wrinkled old woman
Day after day
Month after month
In a room where nobody saw
And nobody knew.

(author's name not noted)

More than 30 years ago, my friend Suzanne shared this poem with our book study group and I have continued to think of it over all these years. I've made a lot of stabs at finding it with no success, until today! And how timely.
I shared a bit of it tonight as we sat around our beautiful table at church sharing a simple meal together as we prepared to follow the examples of Jesus in the simple acts of breaking bread and washing of feet in service to one another. I looked around that table, and I knew every heart and set of hands around it- every one a servant.
Michael washed my hands, I washed Di's. Di washed Dan's hands, Kendra washed Shameka's feet, around full circle. We served each other bread and cup in hushed darkness, whispering the words that matter- this is the body of Christ, for you my brother; this is the cup of salvation. We lingered in the silence, then one by one we left, each of us extinguishing a bit of the candlelight.
Servanthood is sacred and scarey stuff.

Wednesday Link Love

Does this not make you happy?!!

And the photo gallery here is just so soothing....

These are mighty fun for Easter!

I hope when Stellan is 16 he will be so touched by this...

And in case you wanted something that would suck up huge chunks of time before you know it, I offer you this....... and this........

For all of my friends who are such fun grandmothers, I think this spaghetti mobile is just so so cool!

And finally, how fun was Kimberly's birthday? Of course, at my age it could be a long long day.

One Thing

I'm a big fan of Marc and Angel Hack Life and have really had some break-through this week on several tasks that just kept weighing me down but never getting done. Using this simple little list helps me organize my thoughts around what I most need to get done and gives me a place to focus. The thing I most miss from my premenopausal days is the ability to order my thoughts and organize tasks, and this has given me something I can get a handle on. Check out the article, and the printable templates!

Grace, I guess!

So, today when the little girl next door got home from school there was a man on their roof. She called her mom to let her know that she was home, and mentioned the man on the roof. It didn't take my neighbor ANY TIME to fly home from work to see what was going on. The workmen were just loading up their ladders when she got there. As she approached one of the men, he launched into a report- they had replaced all the bad shingles, had found a couple of rotted places in the wood and had replaced that, had replaced some flashing and secured the gutter. My neighbor was stunned and finally stammered out that she wasn't sure why they had done all of this work. He held out the work order to show her that in fact they had been called to do the job. The thing is, when she looked at it she saw right away- they had been hired to do all of this to the house at 941........not 940. The guy looks a little embarrassed, then says, "Well, your roof is in great shape now......" Oh, I wish they had come to 938!!!

I encourage you to read this sweet story over at kindover matter........

If Jesus Drove a Truck

Palm Sunday

It just wouldn't be Palm Sunday for me without re-visiting my sweet friend Steven DeGeorge's take on it.

If Jesus Drove a Truck…

If Jesus drove a truck it’d be gray,

a 4 cylinder, and just enough to get Him where He needs to go.

With the 12 in the bed and a 3 speed on the column,

He’d be the talk from here to Mexico.

They’d say, “Who’s that man and what’s he trying to say?

If he’s so great, why is his truck so gray? And old? And noisy?

Well, I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know.

He’d drive that thing all over West Virginia,

telling stories to the miners and mechanics

and their families.

They’d have Him in for breakfast

and comment on His truck and how they’d fix it;

He’d say, “don’t worry. Where I’m going you never need a tune up.”

He’d take His crew up through Jane Lew

and on to Charleston and Beckley and Bluefield and Wheeling.

Well, He’d love the Appalachian Mountains

and all the people living round them would come to hear and see the miracles.

They’d say, “Who’s that man and what’s he trying to do?

Did you hear he turned those R.C. Cola’s into bottles of Blue Moon

the other night at a party?”

Well, I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know.

He’d walk on into church like He owned the place,

and they wouldn’t see much more than the dirt upon His face.

And then a man would come and ask politely

if he could show Him to the exits,

but He’d walk right past and take the podium.

He’d say, “Blessed are the poor mechanics,

blessed are the miner’s families,

and blessed are you who help the least of these.

And woe to you whose wealth is blinding,

for you the kingdom will be like driving

through the eye of a needle in a white-washed SUV,"

…and they’d get mad.

They’d get angry.

But I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know.

Well just outside of Morgantown it threw a rod,

the truck broke down, and He sent His friends ahead

and they hitch hiked.

They found a room and just like He said,

there was a Schwinn and it was red,

and they brought it to Him

and He rode triumphant in.

Hosanna man lay your Carhart down.

He’s riding in, put your coat on the ground.

Hosanna man lay your flannel down.

He’s riding in, put your shirt on the ground.

Green Lent

Today's word was Dan's- Hootenany

Wild Blessings

My sister and I saw "Wild Blessings: A Celebration of Wendell Berry" today at Actors Theatre of Louisville. I loved every delicious moment of it. You can read more about it here. The first words were The Mad Farmers Liberation Front and I got weepy and continued to be weepy throughout, so touched am I by his beautiful words.

I'm not sure that I had read The Blue Robe before, and maybe it speaks to my age that it touched me so, or the way the poems built up to that moment in the play, but I fell in love with it.

The Blue Robe
by Wendell Berry
How joyful to be together, alone
as when we first were joined
in our little house by the river
long ago, except that now we know
each other, as we did not then;
and now instead of two stories fumbling
to meet, we belong to one story
that the two, joining, made. And now
we touch each other with the tenderness
of mortals, who know themselves:
how joyful to feel the heart quake
at the sight of a grandmother,
old friend in the morning light,
beautiful in her blue robe!

And just in case there is anyone who doesn't know this amazing piece, I leave you with

The Mad Farmer's Liberation Front

Love the quick profit, the annual raise,

vacation with pay. Want more

of everything ready-made. Be afraid

to know your neighbors and to die.

And you will have a window in your head.

Not even your future will be a mystery

any more. Your mind will be punched in a card

and shut away in a little drawer.

When they want you to buy something

they will call you. When they want you

to die for profit they will let you know.
So, friends, every day do something

that won't compute. Love the Lord.

Love the world. Work for nothing.

Take all that you have and be poor.

Love someone who does not deserve it.

Denounce the government and embracethe flag.

Hope to live in that free

republic for which it stands.

Give your approval to all you cannot

understand. Praise ignorance, for what man

has not encountered he has not destroyed.
Ask the questions that have no answers.

Invest in the millenium. Plant sequoias.

Say that your main crop is the forest

that you did not plant,

that you will not live to harvest.

Say that the leaves are harvested

when they have rotted into the mold.

Call that profit. Prophesy such returns.
Put your faith in the two inches of humus

that will build under the trees

every thousand years.

Listen to carrion - put your ear

close, and hear the faint chattering

of the songs that are to come.

Expect the end of the world.

Laugh.

Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful

though you have considered all the facts.

So long as women do not go cheap

for power, please women more than men.

Ask yourself: Will this satisfy

a woman satisfied to bear a child?

Will this disturb the sleep

of a woman near to giving birth?
Go with your love to the fields.

Lie down in the shade. Rest your head

in her lap. Swear allegiance

to what is nighest your thoughts.

As soon as the generals and the politicos

can predict the motions of your mind,

lose it. Leave it as a sign

to mark the false trail, the way

you didn't go. Be like the fox

who makes more tracks than necessary,

some in the wrong direction.

Practice resurrection.

Etsy: The Handmade's Tale

I love everything I've ever gotten from an etsy artison!

8 Things

I hope people say about me when I'm gone.....

1. She did the best she could with what she had. (If you are from the South, you may now insert, "Bless her heart.")

2. She was enough, she had enough, she gave enough, she tried enough, she was enough.

3. She and Shawn raised three self-confident kids who love justice, seek mercy, and walk humbly with their God.

4. She loved having a secret with the universe, finding ways to show kindness and grace to people who needed it without anyone knowing.

5. She was one rich woman. She had all she wanted and more than she asked for.

6. She wasn't great but she had good intentions.

7. She made a warm and comfortable home for her family and her friends.

8. Her house was immaculate. You could eat off her fl0...........well, I can dream, can't I?

Before

Before you judge me too harshly, bear in mind that I don't do attics. For years, the only person going up and down out of the attic has been Shameka, and while she has tried hard, we've just been sending her up with way too much just to get it out of our sight.

After

It maybe doesn't look all that different, but a) it's all contained, b) like things are stacked with like things, and c) every box has a number and I have a file that tells me what is in each numbered box! We took a HUGE load to Goodwill, recycled a mountain, and threw out what couldn't go any other way. What on earth were we thinking, saving all of those clothes that we hoped would fit someday, all of those idgits and widgits that I was afraid we "might need someday"? And what good are the headlines from the day JFK was killed and September 11 and the end of the Viet Nam war if they are all in random boxes and can never be found?

The girls did the lions share of the work, and all of us together spent a good five hours on it!

And for those keeping count, we are checking this off our list and yesterday we went to Ollies Trolly and did a photo shoot day at Cave Hill Cemetary.

Wednesday Link Love

Yes, the sky was really that color today, and there really was a sprig of redbud in bloom!

So, not that I'm a wearer of lipstick, but I'm sort of taken with this look.

I like to look and look at this page and try to choose which one I would pick if I could have any one of these.

When you can't go to sleep, try to decide what your five rules would be.

I've thought of this sweet little story all week.

This is a fun little tool for garden planning.

While I like to think that I would try my hand at these, I really can only picture Beth really doing it.

Don't we all need a set of these on our desk?

I dare you to pull this out in a restaurant!