Warning:

Do not make long visits home when you have moved far away...they'll only make you more homesick. Especially when these lovely mountains are just outside your window at home.

Tonight. 7:30. Libby Gardner Hall.

(nader ralley) hope to see you there!

Summer Vacations & Kodachrome

Ol' Faithful

Indian & Celia Jane in Orderville, Utah

Oregon Coast

My guess is this photo is on the drive to Oregon. Mom, correct me if I'm wrong.

Paul Simon was oh so right..."Kodachrome, they give us those nice bright colors, they give us the greens of summers, makes you think all the world's a sunny day, oh yeah!"

These photos were taken by my Grandpa, Newel, as he took the family on summer road trips to Southern Utah and the Oregon Coast. They just don't make film the way they used to!

I'll be leaving tomorrow for my own summer vacation. This one is going to be a good one because my entire family will be in Utah and we'll be playing at the family cabin in the beautiful Uintas! I'll be posting often, forgive me is I miss a day here or there.

Any of you going on a summer vacation soon?

Taking Celia Jane's Advice

I've had a very busy few days...yoga all weekend long and starting a new job. Today I am getting ready for my two-week visit to HOME! I am quite exhausted. As many of you might already know, my grandmother, Celia Jane, is always telling us to take a nap at LEAST once a day. When I am in SLC I plan to follow her wise advice.


photo : my family archive, Celia Jane and Aunt Connie

Rattling Around My Brain

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. -Henry David Thoreau

This statement by Thoreau has been rattling around in my head all morning long. I first heard it when I first watched Dead Poet's Society over fifteen years ago. That is such a lovely and moving movie. I need to watch it again soon. When I was in high school I watched it every weekend.

I have thought about Thoreau's words over the years, and now that I have read him myself I am even more dedicated to living a deliberate life. It also reminds me of the power of the earth. We have so much to learn, so much to learn!

Happy Pioneer Day, Utah!

I hope all of you in Utah enjoyed the parade this morning, and are planning on eating home made ice cream, lighting sparklers, and laughing hard.

photo via: bigbrownhouse on flickr.

Not So Long Afterall...

Yes, I found a job...yesterday afternoon. An hour after I posted yesterday I received a phone call from a business that I applied at long ago, but had given up on. I went in for my second interview in the afternoon, and found it to be the most enjoyable interview EVER. So what's my new job? Working as a Yoga Instructor and part-time receptionist for this amaing health center/spa called Fountain of Health. This is the perfect job for me! It combines yoga, food, and people! They offer nutrition classes for people wanting to try things like a raw diet. The owners are so generous. Money is not their bottom line...they just love what they do and want to help people. How fast was that miracle delivered?! I'll tell you more about it later. Until then, you should visit their site here.

The Long Hunt

Yes, the time has come for me to get a job. My days of cooking, reading, and learning to speak French must end. There is a time and a season for everything, yes? However, there is nothing more humorous to me as the classifieds. These corporate people try to rope you in, like working in a cubicle is the best thing that could ever happen to you. Here's a couple jobs I applied for this morning.

"Goal Oriented Receptionist Needed For Fast-Paced Company"

Seriously. Who are they kidding? I always feel so patronized when reading some of these ads. Do they really think that anyone that applies for the job is not going to claim to be "goal-oriented"? Here's my favorite line from the ad: "Super star assistant Needed ASAP"...ooh! ooh! Pick me! Job Requirements: " Must be efficient in asnwering 6 incoming lines, fliling, faxing, meet and greet and willing to take on more experience." "Don't Miss Out On This Opportunity!". Are you kidding me? Opportunity? Opportunity to waste my life away? No thanks. I'm crossing my fingers they don't call me back.

Administrative Assistant

"A fast-paced growing legal-based office is looking for a motivated administrative assistant." Motivated? Should I tell them I wake up at 5:30 AM even when unemployed because I have a life to live? Here's some requirements for your enjoyment: "1) Computer skills is a must" Skills? Check.

"2) Great telephone skills and in person customer service"...? "

4) Team Player" my favorite of all time...reminds me of when a good friend started working at a restaurant in Sandy, Utah called The Mayan. They were a great team, weren't they Ash?

"8) Attention to Detail" This is killin' me! And, finally, this is where they'll have a hard time finding someone,

"9) Have Great Personality". Sorry for all the sarcasm, people, but I can't help it!

What I Really Want To Do For A Job:

I want to find a pretty antique table, paint it sea foam green (the color of my family's cabin), laden it with fresh produce and home-made goodness, set it up on a corner and charge people a minimal fee, if they can afford it.
And/Or I want to teach yoga. I want to find a pretty little space, get some sponsors, and offer yoga classes for a price chosen by the student.

How To Go About It?

Doesn't this look like the best bakery in the entire universe? I think it is absolutely lovely. I've been trying to think of how I can open up a vegan bakery. My sister used to own a pizza place, and they worked ALL THE TIME. I only want to work SOME OF THE TIME. The food business seems to suck the life out of people. I need something small...something I can close up for a week here and there when I want to travel. Maybe the thing to do is set up a bakery stand on the corner of my street. Ya. Old school. Any thoughts or ideas?

photo via: www.kottke.org

Getting Political

I'm asking you to endulge me this post. It's important to me, and a lot of other people. I like Ralph Nader...a lot. If you haven't heard, he's running for president. Now before you start making all the assumptions that you might when you hear the name "Ralph Nader", give him another chance. I'm not asking you to agree with me. I'm asking you to take some time to get to know him, then make your own decision. You can visit his website to find out what Nader will do for us.

IF YOU LIVE IN SALT LAKE CITY you have the chance to ask Nader your questions personally via phone. There is a House Party for Nader Saturday July 26th in the Harvard/Yale neighborhood from 4:00 PM - 8:00 PM. If you want the exact address email me and I'll give it to you. Then there is a rally at Libby Gardner Hall at the University of Utah July 31st where Nader will be there in person, and you can get a better feel for him as a person.

Thank you for the indulgence. I ask that you simply be informed. Loves to you all!

Thinking of Land

This morning my heart is yearning for some refuge from the city. I want to gather my entire family and a few close friends and move to Southern, Utah...Boulder to be quite specific. (Ceej will be truly happy to read this post). What is it about land that is so romantic? My own belief is we are so drawn to the land because it is alive. It is real. It is rare to find someone who does not enjoy the peace and joy that come from being away from it all. Someday Ceej and I will have a large piece of land in southern Utah. We will leave most of it untouched, using only what we need. Can't wait.

photo via: http://library.byways.org

This I Believe

I have missed hearing one of my most favorite programs from NPR for the past few months, This I Believe. I love the idea behind this project. Last night I was at a Yoga workshop where it was brought up that after food and shelter the need to be heard is most essential to our existence. This program is based on a radio program from the 1950's. I'm oh so glad they revived it, and are connecting all of us. Go to the site to browse the essays. They are absolutely amazing. Some make you cry, really. Some make you nod your head and quietly 'uh-huh'. Others make you a little uncomfortable or outright mad. I love them all.

Here's a little excerpt from a woman who lives in Colorado:
I believe in the human soul and its ability to connect with others. I believe in the transformative power of a single moment. I believe one of my life's most important lessons came when I least expected it.

AMEN!

Sacramento, You Aren't So Bad

(above) When you drive out to the coast in Sonoma County or up the Lost Coast it feels and looks like you're in Ireland. It's oh so pretty. If any of you come to visit we will take a Sunday drive and a picnic here for sure. Maybe we could read some Yeats.
There are lots of people that bike around the city here. People love vintage bikes.
The fresh produce is pretty amazing. We eat well here.

Life is pretty sweet right now.

Missing Utah Mountains & Salt Lake Valley

Whose woods these are I think I know...
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
-Robert Frost, Stopping By Woods On a Snowy Evening.

Most people think that being homesick is a sign of weakness. Maybe they are right to some degree. But for this post I disagree. There is something to feeling a sense of "place". There is something about being connected to a spot of land, the people who live there, and the pace of life. I feel that sometimes people without a sense of place or home develop an attitude of carelessness...a true lack of care. It doesn't matter to them how they earn their money or the time wasted watching TV until they can finally fall asleep...just to face another day in their cubicles. Do you hear what I'm saying?

Salt Lake City is home for me. Have you ever been there? The mountains watch over the valley...it feels safe. When I live there I know in ten minutes time I can be out of the city experiencing the natural world. The people there move slowly. Family is important. Being outside is important. Ice cream is important.

I am learning to find joy in a new city...I feel very much, in this sense, that I have promises to keep, but miles to go before I sleep. Yes, I am interpreting Frost's words to fit my situation at the moment. Maybe it's wrong to put my meaning to his words, but when you are speaking personally how can you be wrong?

To be fair, I will post the things I have come to love about Sacramento tomorrow.

Flowers of the Week: Mums

Ceej is seriously way too good when it comes to flowers. Once a week. Yesterday he brought me home some lovely mums. I am very very grateful for such a thoughtful man in my life!

I feel a little Shakespear is appropriate here.

Here's flowers for you;
Hot lavender, mints, savoury, marjoram;
The marigold, that goes to bed wi' the sunAnd with him rises weeping:
these are flowersOf middle summer, and I think they are given To men of middle age.
The Winter's Tale (4.4.122-7)

Fairy Tales: Per Your Request

The beautiful Dee requested that I list some suggestions for readings concerning faeries. What a fantastic idea! Something I am more than happy to do. So here's a list, off the top of my head.

Brothers Grimm. It's a must. If you haven't read these they're delightfully fantastic, gruesome, and rooted in tradition. So, so good.
I love Celtic folklore and fairy tales. Many stories have such lovely wit as well as some morbidities. I like this short little one by Joseph Jacobs.
This encyclopedia is great for when you only have ten minutes to spare. You can quickly flip through it and find out all sorts of interesting things. I picked this up last fall in NYC at the Museum of Natural History...they were having a Mythical Creatures exhibit. Best exhibit EVER.
Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis. I've mentioned it before, and will probably mention it again. It's that good. It's mythical. There is Psyche, gods, the Fox, human sacrifice, ilusions, etc. Probably the most beautiful book ever written. You'll cry for sure at the end. Here's a couple excerpts:

"It was when I was happiest that I longed most...the sweetest thing in all my life has been the longing...to find the place where all the beauty came from."

"The complaint was the answer. To have heard myself making it was to be answered. Lightly men talk of saying what they mean. Often when he was teaching me to write in Greek the Fox would say, "Child, to say the very thing you really mean, the whole of it, nothing more or less or other than what you really mean; that's the whole art and joy of words." A glib saying. When the time comes to you at which you will be forced at last to utter the speech which has lain at the center of your soul for years..."

If I was still in SLC I would start a Fairy Tale/Myth/Folklore club for sure. I think if I started it here I would be the only member.

Today Is A Good Day

Have you reckoned a thousand acres much? Have you reckoned the earth much?
Have you practiced so long to learn to read?
Have you felt so proud to get at the meaning of poems?
Stop this day and night with me and you shall possess the origin of all poems,

You shall possess the good of the earth and sun . . . . there are millions of suns left,
You shall no longer take things at second or third hand . . . . nor look through the
eyes of the dead . . . . nor feed on the spectres in books,
You shall not look through my eyes either, nor take things from me,
You shall listen to all sides and filter them from yourself.

I have heard what the talkers were talking . . . . the talk of the beginning and the end,
But I do not talk of the beginning or the end.
There was never any more inception than there is now,
Nor any more youth or age than there is now;
And will never be any more perfection than there is now,
Nor any more heaven or hell than there is now.

-Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass

Oh So Pretty!

Something happens to me when I find a really beautiful wedding dress (of course I'm no longer in the market for one, but I still like to look!). When I find a dress that takes my breath away I find myself getting teary-eyed and ready to throw a tantrum (the kind you threw when you were 3 years old and wanted some candy at the store) because I can't have it. This dress by Claire Pettibone is one of those. I think I find a dress a week that I MUST HAVE. Really wish I could find a reason to buy and wear a wedding dress again.

Mom's Gardens

My mom has some absolutely lovely gardens in her yard. I love that she has a purple fence! You get to do that kind of thing when you are a wise woman. I'm pretty sure there are lots of faeries living in her garden...I mean, my mom has a little house put out for them and everything. It's irresistable. I'll be seeing her gardens (and her!) in about 3 weeks! Can't wait.

Dear Smoke,

Dear forest fire smoke,

I know you were started by Mother Nature, with lighting, one of my favorite things.
BUT this smoke has outstayed its welcome in my lungs.
It's dangerous to walk and especially hazardous to drive.
Your causing our sunsets (and moon rises) to be blood red, like the polluted sunsets I remember from industrial cities in China.
I ask you please leave us be this weekend and the rest of the summer.

Your pal,
Ann Marie

Mim + Martin = TLA

I think it's safe to announce that my dear friend, Mim, is getting married!! She's been in NYC for two and a half years now. I'm so happy she's having a fall New York wedding. Can hardly wait for the big day!

Here's a little "photo shoot" we did last October.

Here is Mim feeling embarrassed that she agreed to our "photo shoot" game.

Mim and I in Greenwich Village

Mim & Martin, the groom-to-be, sharing some yummy dessert with Ceej and I in SoHo.

One of the best things about Mim getting married is she can say goodbye to the "rapist door"...all those locks are pretty scary. Not to mention the knives are stored on the wall right next to the door...just in case.

what's better than a surprise?

TWO SURPRISES!

Ceej is pretty darn good at keeping my life filled with fresh flowers. The employees at the local floral shop are becoming some of his good friends. Anyway, to the point. Yesterday I was having a "lost" sort of day...which made me a little blah. For lunch Ceej showed up with a bouquet of thistle and other lovely purple blossoms! Thistle are in my top five favorite flowers. Those flowers were a real treat that made my heart swell with joy! Then later that evening Ceej surprised me yet again. I had been at a meeting from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM. When I returned he had a Parisian Macaron Ice Cream Sandwich (lemon) waiting for me! They are by far my most favorite treat EVER. The treat was more than icing on the cake. My blah day was instantly the best day of the week so far. Because of the heat we've been having Ceej had to take some ice with him to Ginger Elizabeth's, and pack the treat carefully to ensure he got it home in perfect, chilly condition. Hooray for thoughtful spouses!

Tree-ology

I have a habit of buying wedding magazines. They are oh so pretty, and give good ideas for any party or gift. Anyway, I picked up the current Martha Stewart Weddings magazine yesterday and found a real treat. It is a Celtic version of astrology. You find what tree corresponds with your birthday, and you get to learn a little something about yourself. Find out here.

I am a Maple Tree:
(independence of mind) full of imagination and orignality, shy and reserved, ambitious, proud, self-confident, hungers for new experiences, sometimes nervous, has many complexities, good memory, learns easily, complicated love life, wants to impress.
Do you think that's pretty close? I'll take the compliments, and laugh at my complexities.

Ah, the Universe

I am having one of those days, which are coming more often, when I am just amazed at how everything continues to be connected. Everything. It amazes me that within myself there is a universe as well. Everything follows ancient laws. I am living more and more in the moment. Of course I still find myself dreaming of all the "some day's"...some day when I have a house, some day when I have a garden, some day when I can travel to Waternish on a whim, etc. But I am also finding contentment in my everyday, now, life. I am loving the experience of living in a cheap apartment in a noisy part of town that can keep me up at nights. I am accepting the fact that my oven doesn't work at all really. I am living the story of my dreams...remember when we lived in that apartment that had a mouse now and then and the oven burned everything you put into it? All of this is part of my dreams. When I get a house I will enjoy it that much more.

I went off on a tangent there. My point is is that the Universe is conspiring to make our dreams come true. Day to day I find something that inches me closer and closer, but at the same time I feel that I am there. Already. I might not have my dream job now, but it is part of my dream to be in search of my perfect job. I am resolving today to let the Universe work its magic as I do what I can at every moment.

The photo is of Omega Centauri...a cluster of stars, a nebula. I love nebulae. It is an awe-some symbol of death and rebirth.

Hayden Lake, Idaho

(above) Canoe
(above) view from the house
(above) the house
(above) wake surfing
(above) driving the boat to the fireworks show
(above) firework extravaganza
(above) extreme knee-boarding
(above) tube wars
(above) restaurant on the dock...always fun to drive the boat to eat!

Away We Go & Happy 4th of July!

Ceej and I are headed out for a week with family at the lake. It should be a good ol' fashioned holiday weekend. Hopefully the rest of you have festive plans to look forward to!

July, Baseball, & Kids

Though the first day of summer is officially June 21st, I don't feel that summer is really here until July...especially with the celebrations of Independence Day.

I've always thought that an ideal Independence Day would end with going to a baseball game, eating a hot dog (since it's not really meat anyway, right?), and watching fireworks from my seat in the stadium. Why does it seem like my grandparents' generation had it all right? Simple lives, work hard, play outside, grow gardens, help neighbors, have socials, sew clothes, waste not. I go crazy with the nostalgia of it all.

The first photo is a photo of a Boston Red Sox player that I found on the Library of Congress's Flickr site. I think the ideal 4th of July celebration would include a celebration in Boston (where most of the "rebels" were in the late 18th century), having a social/picnic, making your way to a Sox game, eating a hot dog, watching fireworks, and singing along to the Star Bangled Banner.

The second photo is of my grandma, Celia Jane, playing baseball in the street outside her childhood home in Salt Lake City. She and her brother would always play after church on Sunday--to the dismay of her very pious father. Celia Jane always loves a good time and a good laugh.

The third photo is, again, of Celia Jane with her siblings, cousins, and neighbors. THIS is a definite July photo. All the kids gathered around a table outside for a little party. My favorite is the kids using a wagon for a bench.

What will we do when the Greatest Generation has passed? I hate to think of it.

Angel

This is my beautiful grandmother, Celia Jane. I just finished a lovely telephone conversation with her and my grandpa, Newel. Grandpa is always very insightful and happy to hear from me. Grandma loves to talk about girl stuff: relationships, kids, and cooking. Tonight she told me her favorite cake is Angel Food, and she's been craving it lately. Loves to you both!