Moms Know

Earlier today as Ceej and I were raking up leaves I thought about how wonderful it would be to plant a vegetable garden and flower garden for the use of all the tenants in our apartment building. They could grab fresh veggies and beautiful fresh flowers for vases whenever they needed.

I shared my thoughts with my mom when she came over a little bit later. Not only does she know how to create such gardens, but she even had a name for the type of flower garden I wanted: a "Cutting Garden". I had no idea that people had gardens set aside specifically for cutting and beautifying our homes. And the name is so obvious and simple, but I never would have known. Moms really do know just about everything, and have had all the great ideas that I have years and years before.

Above: The Cutting Garden at Chateau de Chenonceau.

Sacred Sound

In the Sanskrit language, the sound of each letter is considered sacred. The Vedas tell us that sound is the easiest, and most direct way to connect with the Divine.

Today, I did my own yoga practice, taught yoga, and cleaned my house to this CD above. I love the chanting and voices. It quickly makes me more mindful and creative.

Namaste.

Disappointed, I admit it!

Last night CJ and I RAN to get to this play at the Pioneer Theater Company. A Midsummer Night's Dream is one of my favorite Shakespeare plays of all time. We had to go.

I was hoping to blog to all of you today how magical it all was. But, to my chagrin, the costuming was all wrong and overdone: Puck turned out to be the latest Incredibles superhero, Titania came straight from the not-so-flattering part of the '80's; Demetrius, Lysander, Helena, etc were early 1900's, and there were lots of men in soldier's attire that didn't match either. AND, either Peaseblossom or Mustardseed had a mullet!!! The picture above is so pretty...nothing like the play in person.

We left at intermission, I'm sad to say.

Has anyone else seen this production? If so, would love your imput. Maybe I missed something.

I want us to be brothers again...like we used to be.

The Darjeeling comes out on DVD today. If you click around on things above you can watch movie clips, etc. Enjoy!

Things Keep Opening Up

This weekend I met with some of my most favorite and beautiful yoginis to touch base with our teaching careers. It was so indescribably wonderful. If only those conversations could happen more often...every time I am amazed at the unexpected releases and epiphanies. Thank you to all of you. Loves to you.

Go To Sleep

This is the talented Philipe Le Fleur (aka Phil Leffler). This, I think, was at Hasenpfeffer's Christmas party. Listening to all of these talented people is one of my most favorite things to do. We haven't done it in a while, and I'm thinking it might be time to organize another night like this.

If you like what you hear click here. My favorite is "Sample 3" (aka Stories and Fables).

On Tolerance

It seems these days that though we see much of religious prejudice, there is also an overflowing of religious tolerance as well. There must be opposition in all things, yes? I found this quote by Rumi that I really love:

"There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground."

I love the photos above. I love that there is so much devotion, faith, and love that is moving through our earth and universe. I am oh so grateful for our connectedness.

Oggi, voglio andare in Italia

(sopra) Interno il nostro albergo a Firenze...amo le parete blu!

(above) Inside our hotel in Florence...I love the blue walls!

(sopra) La finestra al nostro albergo a Firenze...di fronte al Duomo.

(above) The window of our hotel in Florence...opposite the Duomo.

(sopra) Fuori al nostro albergo a Firenze.

(above) Outside our hotel in Florence.

Il Duomo.

I Just Like Old Things, Ancient Things

Ancient things I L-O-V-E, a list:

01. Medieval Manuscripts - their pages literally speak to my soul
02. Yoga - the yoking of body, mind, and spirit
03. Religious Rituals - returning to the beginning
04. Fairytales - the ongoing battle between good and evil
05. Ents - if only the trees would speak to us today
06. Greek Mythology - oh, to be the bard!
07. Silvery White Hair - I'm seriously contemplating dying mine, or perhaps I'll be lucky like my Mom - not sure why I consider that "ancient", but it just is, and it's good.
08. Chanting - in many creation stories sound is what created all things, and is the quickest way to find the divine
09. Words - how sacred a gift they are, indeed they are to be used wisely
10. Mummies - why are they so intriuging?
11. Stars - they are older than even our Earth
12. the Maya - though they could be ruthless, their fascination with the universe is mine as well
13. Ruins - they hold the spirit of many gone before who I desparetly want to feel

Earlier this morning I went to the Rare Books Division at the University to have a look at some Medieval Manuscripts from Britain. My joy is difficult to explain...what beauty, love, mystery, devotion, and knowledge these books breathe!

So now my dream job has expanded into two dream jobs:

01. Yoga instructor

02. Rare Books Curator/Collector

What's Your Vote?

Perth, Australia.
Pros:
01. A truly amazing adventure and opportunity
02. Travel to places like: New Zealand, Thailand, Bali, etc.
03. I can take online classes from the U forever! (until they kick me out)
04. We get to sell our car...an excuse to start doing our part in saving our earth.
05. We get to meet new people.
06. No corn syrup in our food!
07. Beaches: snorkeling, surfing, and relaxing
08. New yoga community to learn from.


Perth, Australia
Cons:
01. $2200/roundtrip plane ticket = no visitors!
02. $5000 for a Christmas visit home
03. Missing big important family events
04. Giant bugs that I don't know even exist!
05. What do we do with our furniture?!
06. How do you move to another country?
07. I have to leave my books here in storage!


Salt Lake City, Utah
Pros:
01. Free Rent! CJ and I can stay in our apartments as managers for free!
02. I have many yoga teaching opportunities already lined up.
03. I can finish school whenever
04. There are some seriously good investments here for us...only if we stay here though.
05. We'll sell our car anyway...we just have to figure out how to get to Sandy for Sunday dinners.
06. Travel: We could go anywhere, including Europe!


Salt Lake City, Utah
Cons:
01. We're too comfortable here.
02. We'll miss out on an Australian adventure.
03. Too many distractions here.
04. What if...

Here Would Be Nice

I would really enjoy doing some yoga in this studio. Nothing fancy. Just simple and clean. I like how the props are arranged so neat. Windows are a very good thing too. And one more thing, I like white walls for yoga.

Yurt!

(above) Matt, our captain.

(above) star-gazing in the "sauna"...I left as soon as the ghost stories started

(above) Behold! The Yurt!

(above) Us.

(above) Sauna talk.

(above) Hasen + Soysage = So BIG!

(above) Lovely Mary w/ hot cocoa

(above) Philipe and Mo serenade

(above) fried cookies

Our Day of L-O-V-E

1. Waffles for breakfast

2. Love notes and heart-shaped chocolates left in hidden places all over the apartment

3. Tea at Elizabeth's

4. Make delicious cookies (I'm having an ethical dilemma making non-vegan cookies to give away. I wouldn't eat them myself, so why is it okay to give them away? Oh well. Next year I'll figure out a recipe for Vegan Sugar Cookies).

5. New Lomo Phisheye camera for Ceej (hopefully he doesn't read my blog BEFORE he unwraps this!)

6. Roses delivered to my door

7. My favorite restaurant, Sage's, where I can eat ANYTHING on their menu!!
8. Movie: The Spiderwick Chronicles - for a fairytale something to romance us away

9. Surprises from CJ. I have strict instructions not to go poking my nose around the apartment today. I LOVE SURPRISES!!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Love, according to Paul--the purist of all love: Charity.

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

Doth not behanve itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

For we know in part, and we propehcy in part.

But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.

When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

For now we see through a glass darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

Recovering...

CJ and I returned home late last night from a 3-day yurt/ski trip. I went a little under-the-weather so I'm extra exhausted. Give me one more day to rest and I'll be back tomorrow.

Vision, Confidence, & Faith

This is my favorite painting of all time. Yes, I love it more than anything I have ever seen. Painted by Jules Bastien-Lepageis this is Joan of Arc. It is in the New York City Metropolitan Museum of Art. It is enormous and beautiful. I am sad that it was on loan last time we were there.

Today I wish I had the vision, confidence, and faith that this amazing woman had. Look at her eyes...she has seen angels and knows what she is to do and she does not recoil, no, she looks and leans forward. I want those eyes that say so much, and are wise and full of feminine strength. Ah, Joan of Arc, I need you today.

1943

My mother's parents married this week 65 years ago! They are oh so lovely in oh so many ways. I'm in the process of making them a mix of the top music hits of that year. Here is the playlist:

1. There Are Such Things - Tommy Dorsey
2. I Had the Craziest Dreams - Harry James
3. I've Heard That Song Before - Harry James
4. That Old Black Magic - Glenn Miller
5. Taking A Chance On Love - Benny Goodman
6. Comin' In On a Wing and a Prayer - Song Spinners
7. You'll Never Know - Dick Haymes
8. In the Blue of Evening - Tommy Dorsey
9. Sunday, Monday or Always - Bing Crosby
10. Paper Doll - Mills Brothers

After listening through all of these, I can't help but think, "music just isn't as romantic as it used to be...all of these 'hits' are guaranteed to woo anyone into dancing cheek to cheek!"

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, GRANDMA & GRANDPA!

Ah, the Miraculous!

In my Early Medieval England class we are discussing Cuthbert of Lindisfarne who lived during the 7th Century, C.E. I just finished reading Bede's account of his life and his miracles. My favorite story goes like this:

Every night Cuthbert leaves the relative warmth of the monastery to emerge himself in the icy-cold water of the sea to pray and contemplate God--merely another self-denial act for someone living an ascetic life. One night a younger monk follows him out into the night to see what he does. He watches Cuthbert enter into the water, and watches him all night. When dawn approaches, Cuthbert allows himself out of the water. When Cuthbert reaches the shore otters greet him, breath on his cold feet to warm him up, and rub their fur to aid in drying his feet.

Cuthbert has the original sort of "dominion" over the animals...that isn't to say he commands them, but that he lives with them in harmony. The animals recognize what a holy being he is and voluntarily submit to him.

I love the miraculous stories of Cuthbert's life. There are many to argue his holiness and saintliness.

Nostalgia

Why is it that all of us 20-something women are knitting, sewing, cooking, gardening, putting bows in our hair, moving back to the city limits for walkable communities, and wearing clothes our mothers wore when they were growing up?

I think it's because we feel we missed out on something...a lot of things. We're learning the lost art of homemaking (it truly is an ART). We want to grow things ourselves and then can our produce in the fall so that we can have fresh eatings in the winter. Most days when I look in the mirror after dressing I think, "man, I look like my mom when she was a little girl"...why? Because that style was and is so pretty. It's fun to wear skirts and put on red lipstick. It's fun to use Grandma's old rollers to get those ringlet curls...it's fun to ride trikes if you ask me.

My mom commented that there's not much original writing going on these days in books, TV, or movies. I agree. It's all a repeat of when she was growing up. For good reason. What does my Nintendo generation have to offer? Not much. (I'm sure I can think of something that we can offer culturally, but I'm in a "nostalgic" mood).

Those little girls: my mom on the back, getting a ride from Aunt Connie. Beautiful girls who became beautiful women.

It finally hit me...hard.

Indeed I have known of very few men who are as loving, generous, real, optimistic, and charitable as was Gordon Bitner Hinckley. I think I was in shock that he died last Sunday...it didn't sink in until I watched his funeral on TV at my mom's. I realized that he was a sort of "father" to me as I came of age in this church. If only all children had fathers like this man...

My Uncle David shared some words that the prophet gave to a large group of college students: " Pres. Hinckley gave at the dedication of the Hinckley Building. I wish you could have been there. I wish you could see the DVD. After President Hinckley says “I love ya . . . I love you kids . . . .” he can’t speak. Slowly, noticeably, he loses his composure, begins tapping on the pulpit to control his emotions, but cannot. He then cries as he continues . . . “you wonderful young people of this church. I love ya.” From this point the mantal of the Lord rests upon him, and he teaches and encourages and promises the “young people” of this church (everyone younger than him, I think) how to live in faith."

I love the last verse of a hymn he wrote, My Redeemer Lives

Oh, give me they sweet Spirit still,

The peace that comes alone from thee,

The faith to walk the lonely road,

That leads to thine eternity.

The most touching part of the whole thing was the lone piper playing "Praise to the Man" at his graveside.

Later today CJ and I are going to walk up to his grave (it's just a couple blocks away) and set there a bouquet of thistles...indeed, PRAISE TO THE MAN!

A Little Photo Gallery. Artist: CJ

I want Ceej to paint this one, above.

It's amazing how the wintered plants glow in the desert...you have to see it in real life.

Honest Wishes Straight From the Heart

1. I wish, today, for more optimism in me and everyone else in this grand old earth.
2. Less consumerism. Don't we have enough stuff? I, quite honestly, burned myself out.
3. More effort to preserve our Mother Earth...also in me and everyone else.
4. A sunroom and greenhouse for every person that is breathing.
5. Yoga available to everyone (keep your eyes peeled...I'm in the process of working on this).
6. More laughter. Always. My family is good at this one.
7. A yard to plant a tree that will become as wild as the one pictured above.
8. For everyone to see the stars in the snow, and how it's all connected.
9. More music. The kind that lifts your heart.
10. More art. The kind that makes you weep, not because you're disturbed, but because it's true.
11. That we could all be identified by who and what we ARE and not by what we do...I AM.
12. I wish and hope that Ireland is in my near future, because it is in my past.
13. That people weren't so lonely and isolated...here's to staying close to friends and family. Take care of each other, please.

Happy Birthday, Andrea!

Andrea and I met when we were sophomores in high school...so that's 11 years ago!!! (side note: I still haven't graduated from college!). Our first trip together was to my cabin up Weber Canyon. Our last trip together was our 5-month stay in Wuhan, China (teaching English). We did some fantastic touring and site-seeing while we were there. I've decided to share with you our most epic of experiences: Tubing down the Yangshuo River.

Andrea, Britnie, and I got special permission to travel in a group smaller than 5 for a second visit down to Yangshuo. Since we had already visited this town, we thought we could be more bold in our choice of activities. We saw an advertisement for renting tubes (you know the giant black tubes we use for sledding?) and then taking a float trip down the river...sounds simple, right? Just you wait. Our "guides" (who spoke barely any English) told us to get out of the river when we saw the "3 Sisters" hotel/restaurant on the side of the river bank, and that's where they would pick us up to take us back into town. The duration of our float was supposed to be 1.5 hours.

2 hours into our floating we assumed the current was slower than usual, since we hadn't seen any sign of our "3 Sisters" destination. Just keep going, everything's cool. Half an hour later a dead bird approaches us in the water...what else was in there?! After 3 hours I start freaking out, and saying that we should get out of the river now before we go too far, Andrea starts praying, and Britnie could care less (what an adventure!). We argue back and forth like this for another 3 hours (so now we've been lost for a total of 6 hours!). During all this every time we would see a person (which was rare) on the banks, we try to yell in our horrible Chinese "3 Sisters?!"...they looked at us in total confusion, but would always yell, at least 5 times, "HELLO!".

Finally, we all decide to get out of the river, but it wasn't that easy. The river had become extremely wide, and the current VERY strong. Getting to the banks took some serious muscle, which I've never owned. Andrea and Britnie were the first to the shore. I struggled, and got out a bit further down the bank...the other two worried that I had been swept away for good. But shortly we met up.

Where were we? Who knows. We started walking back in the direction of the city, and managed to trudge through a small farming community. I don't think these people had ever seen white girls, especially drenched ones carrying around large rubber tubes. All activity stopped as we walked through their town.

We found a man in the town who agreed to take us back to the city in the back of his truck for a small fee. We hopped in, and headed back. (This ride back was my first time seeing real fire-flies...truly amazing). On our way, we were swarmed by guys on motorcycles...our guides who had been searching all over for us, and who had called the police. A little embarassing.

Anyway, we made it.

A MUST Before Bed

This combo is a never-fail sequence to a pre-bed routine that delivers a good night's rest. Try it.