More bliss...or little wonders...however YOU want to call it.

Little Wonders...
It's been that kind of week. Time for a list.
1. Went to see the children's version of Oklahoma! at the Magnolia Children's Theater. They couldn't top our very own Maura doing "I cain't say NO", but it was delightful. And on my birthday.
2. Which was quiet and delightful. 45 is a golden time. I am officially "middle-aged". I'm all for belonging to the Middle Ages. even though they didn't have hot running water.
3. An amazing walk with Squishy Jr. on Saturday at Shilshole and Golden Gardens to celebrate finishing my class and doing great on my final! Another step on the way to not being a teacher-dinosaur and having more tools in my teacher-kit so I could be a resource specialist or an MSL specialist or a reading teacher if I want to.
4. Riding the O'Dea bus! With 3rd graders who mostly have never been on a bus.
5. Going to O'Dea for chemistry and biology.
6. Dad-even when he was grey with pain and fatigue, he still facilitated a quality lesson with great guys for my OLF students. The parents werevery impressed. The kids down in the biology lab were dissecting frogs--I didn't appreciate it when I announced that we weren't bringing any frog gall bladders back to OLF in our pockets, and the enthusiastic biology teacher threw in, Oh, not a problem, we have ziplocs!"...I gave him THE LOOK (a.k.a. as Ms. R's stink eye) and the gall bladders remained at O'Dea.
7. I put the kabosh on only one song (99 bottles of beer-had to use my whistle) and switched it to "milk"...being 3rd graders, it became "bilk" because technically...well, you get it, they are being the lawyer-head, Moses-types that they are in the spring of 3rd grade.
8. Had a lovely coffee and pie visit with the Western law prof. He's very nice. Got his priorities straight. We shall see.
9. Managed to study a wee bit and not fret too much about not being perfect on my exams or assignments. The only thing that was imperfect with my notebook was that I put loops on my cursive o's. I like them that way. That is how my mother taught me and I am not going to switch for a bitchy now dead teacher-lady named Romalda who didn't like loops. She obviously never met my mother.
10. I made it to the faculty meeting on time this week. Squishy Jr made it to daycare sort of on time this week.
11. I did laundry today- 3 loads, took three naps, sat in the sun with my dog and my coffee, and read about half of a great Civil War book that is centered around the Battle of Franklin, TN.
12. There was a mom at my solo parenting for adoptive parents group tonight with her 9 month old baby girl just home from Vietnam. The baby's name is Audrey and she is precious. It is becoming very real. More paperwork and fingerprinting this week. MAde friends with a single to be mom named Theresa who is in process for a little boy from Vietnam. We are with the same agency and have the same adoption counselor.
13. I like white wine. when I study is nice, too.
14. There were too many little wonders this week and synchronicitous events to list here...the magic, the power, the flow of what's in place now is...wonderful.
15. I had the best sleep I've had in over 3 years this past week. Because I had a male in my bed. A hairy one. I am going to package this and make my million...then I enjoyed reaping the results of "I am no longer bottom dog because we are sleeping together"...so I'm still in the bed...and he's not. Sounds like a pattern I need to look at...hee-hee. NOT!
Looking foward to Sisters'Night on Tuesday after dance. A sweet time to come............
16. I plan to have the lavendar room cleared out by the end of this week. That is one achievable target I can do...
17. Prayers and healing love and energy to all who need it and desire it....

Proof PAWS-itive...that I have a NORMAL dog!

Deep Water Dreamer and Little Pieces of Heaven
Sometimes there's a problem with being in heaven...for instance, like this morning.
It is a little piece of heaven when you are in a perfectly hot bath, quiet jazz in the background, a steaming cup of hot coffee in just the right cup, with a perfectly lovely book and for this one span of time, your puppy is contentedly ensconced in making mincemeat of his fabric octopus, and then it happens. The wheels in your sleepy Sunday brain get greased and the thoughts start turning into creative collages that demand expression. And right then, the unthinkable happens, which can be described in relation to this phenomenon. You are watching a really great movie and you have had two diet Pepsis with lime at room temperature with no ice and you get the urge. And you try to wait because the movie is so good. And you have to go. And you don't want to stop the movie. But you have to. And finally you get to the point where you have to take care of business because there is no other choice.... I'm dripping as I write this. You get the picture. The bath will have to wait...It's my book anyway, this blog, and I sense that this will be chapter 7. Excuse me a moment while I get my dog out from under my feet. He is playing soccer with himself and apparently, the area under my computer desk is one of the goals. The other one is the front door rug area where, when he "scores", instead of leaping in the air, he grabs one end of the rug, shakes it, growls triumphantly and throws it in the air, until the ref (me) growls at him for grabbing the rug and shows him out to get back in the game. Oh geez, looks like it's half-time, because he has the rug over on his "rug" and is eating it like a snack...I'll be right back. Ok, where were we? Oh, yes, interrupted heaven...
This morning, I am reading Because of Winn-Dixie. (I wish I knew how to use font applications on this blog, because it annoys me when I can't underline things like titles or apply proper accents when I choose to write en francais-sigh). THis book should be required reading for everyone I know, teach, and will teach. It is a superb story about learning about yourself, making friends, trust and intuition, inclusion, forgiveness, the importance of telling stories, listening to stories, making stories, and learning from stories. It is about a Gilbranian take on joy and sorrow. about dogs, peanut butter, war, preaching, music, being alone and being not alone. It is about fear. It is about hope. It is about us. Here are some delectable quotes that I just couldn't ignore:
"Winn-Dixie? I said. "Heh-heh-heh." I heard: "This dog sure likes to eat." I went around a really big tree all covered in moss, and there was Winn-Dixie. He was eating something right out of the witch's hand. She looked up at me. "This dog sure likes peanut butter," she said. "You can always trust a dog that likes peanut butter." (page 63)
******excuse me again. Half-time will be continued in the crate with frozen carrots and a kong for snack. I am tired of having my feet licked. What is it with males and feet??)
******Ok. I'm back.
"I sat down careful and Gloria Dump made me a peanut butter sandwich on white bread. Then she made one for herself and put her false teeth in, to eat it; when she was done, she said to me, "You know, my eyes ain't too good at all. I can't see nothing but the general shape of things, so I got to rely on my heart. Why don't you go on and tell me everything about yourself, so I can see you with my heart." (page 66)
"Why don't you play with them boys?" Gloria asked me. "Because they're ignorant," I told her. "They still think you're a witch. It doesn't matter how many times I tell them you're not." "I think they are just trying to make friends with you in a roundabout way," Gloria said. "I don't want to be their friend," I said. "It might be fun having them two boys for friends." "I'd rather talk with you," I said. "They're stupid. And mean. And they're boys." Gloria would shake her head and sigh, and then she would ask me what was going on in the world and did I have any stories to tell her. And I always did." (page 91)
"Miss Franny looked around the library and then she whispered, "Men and boys always want to fight. They are always looking for a reason to go to war. It is the saddest thing. They have this abiding notion that war is fun. And no history lesson will convince them differently." (page 105)

So, this book is talking BIG to me as a 4, a "witch", as a blind-as-a-bat woman who will never get lasik, as a storyteller, as a professional listener, and as lover of peanut butter on white bread.
Things I love about this book:
1. Dog
2. Dog who like peanut butter
3. Witch (ask Mark-- love him for what he once called me in 1998)
4. Witches who like peanut butter on white bread
5. Witches who can't see
6. Witches who can see with their hearts
7. Witches who listen
8. Witches who tell stories
9. Witches who aren't really "witches"..or are they?
10. The rest of the book to read when I get back to my bath!
Ooowheee! Succulence and a little piece of Heaven!
Moving on...another book. This one called Daughters of a Coral Dawn. Genre: TDKSF (Trashy Dike Novel/Science Fiction) First time I have ever read anything quite like this. Usually, I can't tolerate science fiction. Can't relate. Don't want to. Thought the same would probably be true about this book, too...was somewhat annoyed that bookgroup wouldn't wait to read this when I was down in Mississippi this summer and would miss the gathering anyway (no way I am bringing a book like this down into Baptist land)..and then laughed at myself because I neglected to ask that they wait so it must mean I secretly wanted to taste this kind of writing...sort of like the first time you read a really trashy romance novel or when you google a naughty word so you can see porn for the first time on the internet. Same kind of tingly-wingly kind of feeling--all part of chewing on this juicy life in the succulent NOW. Anyway, so I read it over this week....a good week to read this with everything else going on in the world. Parts were annoying. The author is decidedly condescending toward males (so I vascillated between annoyance and resonance). I have begun a list or writers of whom I have heard but have never read their works outright for myself in their entirety-Sappho, Radclyffe, Woolf, Stein, Toklas. There must be strength and chewy thoughts in their works because I keep coming across allusions and bits and peices of writing and poetry that make an impact in the manner of bugs on your windshield on a roadtrip on my psyche. Gonna check these out. Clean 'em off or eat 'em and enjoy the energy. Obviously, I know nothing about lesbian culture--if there is any such thing as lesbian culture. Here are a few things I learned from reading this book:
1. Lesbians are people, too.
2. Love comes in all forms.
3. Lesbians live and love like everybody else.
4. Lesbians may be genetically smarter than the rest of us or they just may be farther along the evolutionary path.
I guess I'll have to check these out with bookgroup. And I don't need to read anymore of this kind of literature. And I don't need to google naughty words anymore just for the fun of it. It was fun while it lasted.

Now comes the Deep Water Dreamer part.
Oh, Grandpa. Were you just delighted with how things turned out yesterday? The family reconnections, the rolling waves from the ferry boats, the sharing of Dramamine and 12 year old scotch whiskey, the piper, the priest, the dancers, the prayers and poems, the tomatoes in the water with the flowers and rosemary, the storytelling, the laughter when your ashes splatted on the first deck instead of in the water and they had to hose you off into the water?!? The noticing that there is a definite split between the grand progeny of your progeny and how the grand progeny from your eldest son has decided that this will not do and we are now planning how to craft opportunities for time together and the rebuilding of this family of origin with our other cousins so we know each other by name, by smile, and by heart? Poppy, you must be smiling at "The Parting Glass" and "The Water is Wide" and Father Tony singing "Safe Harbor" while some us sipped FishTale Ale in coffee cup disguise. And the party after...and the party after that that went on until the wee hours. It was grand. You were grand. You ARE grand. Thank you for YOU. I'll have some stories to curl your ear-hairs when next I see you (although in heaven, I wonder if God will give you back your head-hairs?..I never remember seeing any when you were walking down here with us. I just remember you spitting out your false teeth at us alot and your laugh--which matched your eyes. And your postcards from around the world which were just infuriating to a young girl because you wrote just enough to get me hooked and then I had to go look up the names of mountains and deltas and countries, the cultures, the food, the names of strange clothes and musical intruments, the wood, the rivers, and the oceans....I believe now that you did that on purpose to get me to learn! And guess what, I do it now for my students...you were not perfect. You had flaws that hurt many of us. We have them, too, in our own ways. We respect anyway. We remember anyway. We love anyway. Fully! Poppy, hug that Grandma Grace for me until I can hug you both myself! And if I get false teeth, I plan to learn how to spit them out at kids just like you!

Little pieces of heaven...almost too many. There were more, in just that one day. Sisters, in conference, being able to share things that I hadn't told anyone and to learn that I am not such a freak anyhow...and if I am, so what! Pop-eye (Poppy style-AHHHHAHHA) style'"I YAM WHAT I YAM"! I am going to continue this "dating" thing a bit more but I loved what younger fairy-godsister shared--"How about the magic and power of "pssst. come here to me" instead of bulldozer-land "I-want-it. I-will-have-it.Get-out-of-my-way-while-go-for-and-get-this"....I like that. I have never conceived of that. I am going to try it. I believe that I will be succulently surprised.
More later on Owl, Flicker, and Hummingbird. I want to get back to my now cold bath while Squishy jr. is having half-time in his crate. Then we will go for a long walk at Shilshole and the little pieces of heaven will start all over again...

Cedar has homework, too.
I am blessing Miss Jenny for the gift of this thing.
It's purple and rubbery. It looks like a prototypical Marsian cartoon spaceship, EXCEPT it has holes in it so when I put dog kibble in there, Squishy Jr, has to push it around, pop it, toe it, tip it, turn it, pick it up and toss it, etc. to get his first breakfast...and I can do this (or real HW). Genius some people! It keeps him busy for the better part of 20 minutes.
He is still gimpy and his back leg keeps 'giving out". I will have that checked out. I see physical therapy and exercises for this. He was born this way. It doesn't stop him in the least but it may impact his chances to do agility. We shall see.

We take G Raney out onto and into the water today.
It's time.
I get to bring the piper. Life doesn't get a whole lot better than this.
Grandpa gets to be with Grandma in heaven to watch the whole thing and he might even send an angel to spark a fight between Michele and Paula. That would be just like him...and then Grace would turn, smack her lips tightly together, nudge him in the gut with her elbow, and say, "Oh, Paul". And he would giggle and grin and do it again.That's my grandfather!

This morning's walk was glorious and peaceful. The sky, the blossoms, the scents, the warblings and calls....Morningsong fits.

The Cavemen aren't just on the Geico commercials...
Yup.
I've met a few in recent weeks. (Here's the interactive part for the audience. Put two fingers from each hand side-by side on either side of your head and curl them simultaneously while saying the word "dating" so that when we come to that part in today's blog, you'll be ready and feel better about yourself for your active participation. We might then do it several times so you feel really good about yourself. Last night I learned that when you do this sort of thing with a group or a class several times with a modeling, it is called "massed practice....DUH!!!! If you do it here, I can feel good about myself because you helped me do my homeowrk.-SIGH.
Back to the Cavemen/"Dating" thing...(How did it go for you? Did you do it? With confidence?)
I've been having "fun" the past few months trying out the "dating" thing....and this time, it's at trip..really. Not to go into dirty details, but let's just say that therapy has paid off and continues to do so. Think Aretha. Think the song "Respect". Think boundaries and someone who has a LIFE and ABUNDANCE and HOPE and SQUISHY Jr. It's all good. ...Dang, where was I? Oh, yeah, Cavemen, "dating", Aretha, therapy...so I went for a pint this week at Conor's with another guy, the asst. women's rowing coach from the UW. He seemed nice, cute, funny. Then it got weird. What are you supposed to think when you are having a pint in a great pub, Dale Russ and friends are in the background playing some of the finest Irish music you will ever hear, you are listening to someone talk about these amazing places around the world where he goes to recruit the finest women crew athletes in the world (?-will need to ask Loolie about that one?), and when you ask him about what he likes to do
in these amazing historical places when he's not working and he says (and I quote)"I like to sit at espresso cafes and watch people until they kick me out then I go to another one and do the same......more conversation...oh, and I notice the prostitutes under the bridges." (try again. Same idea-different question from me-I do this with children all the time, all day-good that the work skills are helping out with the "dating" scene)...same kinds of answers. And to top that, he doesn't read (well, maybe the paper), doesn't play, has no hobbies, doesn't pray, won't talk about his family or friends.....and I start thinking, "Hmmmm, I believe the 4th graders told me about cavemen on the tv and Holy Empty Toilet Paper Roll, Batman! I have one here! To say the least, we talked more, walked some, etc. He got the totally wrong impression about me or came with it or carries expectations around...I know Dad reads this, so I won't go into detail, but I think there was something about Friends "with benefits" in there somewhere. Except, there were no "friends" involved...more like Monopoly but different rules-pass go, do not collect $200, win game.......except I am not playing THAT GAME!!!! (throws head back, bares teeth, and laughs uproariously because I can spell uproariously and I know what it means! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHA!)
There are certainly more stories to tell. More Cavemen. It's a hoot. Stay tuned...p.s. Harp Boy is still in the picture. We just talk..and listen. And smile. Would like to visit more often. I'm working on that one. But not too hard. Actually not "working" on it at all to be completely honest. That got me in a heap of trouble the last couple of times...not going there again...doing this a different way... Asking and waiting to see what will unfold...Ladies, sing with me ,"MAMAS, DON'T LET YOUR BABIES GROW UP TO BE CAVEMEN!..."

Squishy is passed out.
He doesn't even want to get up for dinner!
We're not going to make it to puppy class tonight. He's toast.
What shall I do with this quiet time...go work in the garden? Assess reading papers? Write letters? Dream?
Wash dishes?
Take a nap?
Oh the choices!

A couple of other things...
1. Squishy doesn't like Glenn Miller.
2. And that's just too bad.
3. I think it's a pretty cool thing that my sister can take a door off in less than 10 seconds with no tools!
4. Squishy doesn't like Cameo either.
5. And that's just too bad.
6. I am glad I know some Nature Goddesses...we had a frightened young black-capped chickadee caught inside here at Fair Isle yesterday. Little Feather knew just what to do and happy bird was out the door and off to her family.
7. Squishy can undo a full roll of t.p. in less than 4 seconds..and then bring the end of it to his favorite "hiding spot" which happens to be on an old rug right in the middle of the living room.
8. Squishy doesn't like the Stones.
....he just can't get no satsfaction! (AHHHAAAAAAAAHAAAHAAAA-head titled back and fangs bared:)!) I couldn't help myself. Have a GREAT DAY!

It's Thursday. (put in your own expletive or onomatopoeia).
It's been a week of finding it hard to get out of bed but once you're up-hey, well. you're up.
The walks in the morning have been heartening...a chance to breathe...so that I may Breathe ( you know the kind of week where you have to remind yourself that the air goes in this way and goes out that way and how to do it meaningfully and deeply. It's not been panic attack time but could have been.)
(The Rottweiler behind us has been barking since 4 (a.m.). I think the raccoons are up in "his" trees. Cedar and I stayed home to walk in the back yard to train this a.m.. He will have 5 other playmates at doggie daycare today...he'll get plenty of movement. I'll take care of mine at Curves.
I like having a dog who answers to "Squishy". It seems to fit.
The two of us played some good Sheltie ball yesterday.
I also had the chance to hear about my neighbor's trip driving around the country in the fall in his version of a Peregrin type RV. His journey took him to Civil War battlefields, rock and soul museums, the Duzenburg(sp?) museum, all over the South, up into the mid-Atlantic, the eastern seaboard, even into Maine. Fascinating to hear this and vicariously to "hitch a ride". This kind of an adventure is something I would like to do at some point with a much fancier RV, though. I believe the Yukon and the Canadian Okanogan will come first. Going back to huge lakes, miles of forests, birds on the wing, coffee, music and your thoughts (or a great book on CD)...that's Breathing! I have images of car seats and Squishy in his crate...this is a "good thing" (with credit to Martha).
Need to do my homework for Spalding tonight. I think I have a presentation exam tomorrow. Coffee first.
At school, things have been intense for reasons I may not say. The ripple effect has made it difficult to remain grounded. Prayer, visualizing Grandmother Cedar, keeping my eyes on the prize with the right music and thoughts and books have been the ticket to a more balanced workweek. The synchronicity of what happened in VA and what happened where I work this week was unbelievable,...and quite a heads-up. For the first time, I really spoke my truth about the situation and stood in it. It is a powerful place (more in a quiet, confident, things-will-work-out sense) to know that I can work anywhere...and where I want to work. Support is important....the giving and the receiving.
I am actively offering support and prayers to Sistahs and Sisters of Choice this week (and trying to keep Squishy from taking my dirty unmentionnables outs of the laundry in the bedroom closet)...and the world. I Know we are Held and Loved by Our Loving Source. And that God's Plan will win out...

Absolutely incredulous over what has happened in Virginia today.
My heart and prayers go out to the hurt and slain and their beloveds and to the community. We need peace.
Had a good, long first day back at school.
Cedar had a good, long day at doggie daycare. There are five dogs plus Squishy there this week. He was bleary eyed and wobbling when I brought him out after work today. He was bushed...and happy.
My prayers and thoughts of support are going out to my Beloveds that are in need of this.
We had a good visit with my friend up in Port Townsend and her frisky, willful, cute Corgi named Dolly. She was Elizabeht Bennett and Amy March all rolled up into a corgi-suit with the ears and voice to match. I thought Fiona had something to say about every little thing...I was wrong!:) It was funny to watch goofy boy-puppy around She who runs everything and is center of her universe...she had a few things to say to him which we shall not repeat in front of our gentle readers.
I am reading a funky book for bookgroup-Daughters of a Coral Dawn. Hmmmmm...interesting....I am still reading. Maybe this is a good sign.
I finished Anne LaMott's Thoughts on Grace (eventually). Great book. Read it. Chew it. Swallow it. Then write your own. Or at least think about it.
Enjoyed time with my wise friend, Turi. Wild succulent woman, that girl. Hee-Hee.
SHe gave me some good things to think about...which I did on our predawn walk this morning. Cedar is going through a phase where he can literally only do one thing at a time, for a very long time. "Sit" means...for ten minutes. sigh. Down the stairs--what's that? ANyway, it makes our walks perfect for contemplation. He remembers to walk right next to me until he remembers to pull or be distracted...and the birds are alive and songful at that time of day. Very gentle way to start out...time for more prayers and loving supportive thoughts...

A Snickelfritz is...well, ask Mary J. It's what she calls Cedar and it fits!:)

A Snicklefritz by any other name.... or "Cedar meet Ocean, Ocean meet Cedar"
It has been a lovely few days.
Second growth forest, duff so springy that you can bounce on the trails, nurselogs so loaded with the next generation it makes the Star Trek spinoffs look wimpy...salal, salmonberry in bloom, hemlocks so thick that you only know it's raining because you can hear it...hummingbirds, eagles, crows, ravens, and other friend-birds that I know by sound but not yet by name. Iron Springs Resort is a special place. In a nutshell, Cedar and I enjoyed walks (and infernal bouncing due to the condition known as "Oooooh, oooohh! this is new to me and very cool, can I eat it?) on the nature trails and the beach.
One of my fears came true but turned out well. After we watched the sun come up over the ocean waves from our cabin, we headed out to the beach for the first time. I figured we would be alone...not so...as soon as we had had our first romp on the thing we call sand, out of nowhere come three huge black mastiff/lab dogs with no adult in sight and two kids..and we are surrounded. My dog on leash, these dogs not. Curious, some posturing, and I began to talk in a clear, what I hope was reassuring voice while we are circled. I call to kids to get their dogs. They don't move-just stare. I keep talking, not wigging out although my heart was in my nasal passages at that point. Then here comes an adult still way off and calls dogs. One responds, two do not. I begin to walk with my boy off down the beach and hope all will be well. It was. It pissed me off. The lack of consideration that others have...I am glad it ended the way it did. I had only a very small walking stick. I continue to walk the walk without fear walk...and carry the memory of a pitbull hanging off of Fiona's throat when she was young in San Diego...and the pitbull's people just laughing at how their dog was just playing and it took Joe smacking the thing on the head several times to get it to let go..and the puncture holes in my darling's throat. I am not making this up or dramatizing. It was horrible and I will not let my dogs be attacked again if I can help it...but I also don't want to be a fearful neuron either.
And I learned at puppy manners class that what I drew the line on in previous puppy play group sessions as bad, not having it behaviors from other dogs that targeted my dog were dead-on balls accurate and I had a right to step in and remove Cedar. Yay, me! He plays well with other dogs and we will go again or find another group.
We ate good food (thanks Barb for the delicious quiche), drank organic beer, indulged in long, hot baths, went swimming, watched Singing in the Rain (Cedar does not like Donald O'Connor and growled everytime he came onto the screen alone...ask Mary J. I am not making this up.) (He also growled a lot at the dog in the sliding glass door, too,), took naps, walked in the rain, and watched the waves roll in. They leave you alone at this place and I had forgotten that our cabin actually sleeps eight. We had a lot of room to enjoy plus a full kitchen and bedroom suite. Mary could've really spread out if she had wanted to.
We enjoyed ourselves at Pine Lake. Cedar took his first canoe trip and had his first swimming at the lake all at the same time. I ended up in the drink, too, and the fam-damily on the porch said it was worthy of America's Funniest Home Video. I'll take their word for it. All I know is that it was a fun day and my boy played nice with all the other boys (and girls) and it was good.
It was a ball visiting with cousins and friends.
Easter Brunch was an enjoyable time, too. Why was it that no sons showed up at the lake on Saturday? And no sons showed up at Rowan's birthday? Interesting....Sistahs rock! And show up to partee....
Had a massage today. I hurt...in a good way. We "graduated" from Puppy Manners class tonight. We enjoyed a chat with Mike and the Star Sisters tonight. Cedar hurt his back foot playing ball this morning and is still limping. If he's not better by tomorrow, I'll take him in. It's not good to slam yourself into a concrete block when playing sheltie ball. I would move it but it's holding up part of the woodpile. I must remember to not kick the ball over there until he learns where the brake pedal is. I'm sorry he is hurt. We had a nap on the couch today...his idea not mine. But it turned out to be the best idea of all. I even got a little school work done.
I walked the labyrinth on Easter Sunday up on Capitol Hill. It was quite the journey. In candlelight. with jazz and then live harp music. in synch with others, and each one in his/her own path/meditative movement. It was an amazing prayerful time.

Good Friday. Spring Break--finally.
A beautiful day. I am very tired. Puppy is happy and full of it.
Book group went well.
Naps are our friends.
An Easter weekend. Days and nights at a cabin out at the ocean with Mary J.
Work around this home and garden
Adoption paperwork.
Spalding HW to do and to study.
Planning to do for the last quarter of this school year.
Walks. Thinkings. Lots of working out to do.
Kind of skating at the moment. Want to lose this head cold.
Praying for certain folks and situations. Our God is an AWESOME GOD!

Part Deux...
Guess who learned yesterday, in no uncertain terms, not to jump on Queen Alice's head? Apparently someone was quite full of himself at daycare. Guess who also learned not to take Prince Dave's frisbee...ever? Yup, you guessed it! So much to learn...now if we can just learn not to take mom's socks and other things from the laundry basket when she is not looking that would be good, too.

"There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm"--Willa Cather
I was reading over all the past musings from last summer in Jonestown and enjoying the recall. It was just like being there.I'm also enjoying being here, now, and what's unfolding today. 9+ hours of deep, restful sleep on a full moon night can do wonders for a body...at least, mine. Bliss, actually. Report cards are finished and this time, it was different...in front of a cozy fire, glass of wine, sleepy puppy, all at home. Love those laptops! And throw in a trip down to the Field with with a carload of kids and pup for a sweet time...not bad and it's not even spring break yet.
The car trip was uneventful and pleasant (as car trips go). We stopped off at Avis's to have a cup of tea, a playbreak, and to get my slippers. It was a short, lovely visit. The family is really missing their dear Puck. They shared photo after photo. They are putting a website together. The kids enjoyed playing in the castle out front and with the wooden trains inside. Avis knows kids. And now she's a grandma. We spent the rest of the time munching animal crackers and telling stories in the manner of NW Coastal traditions. Our favorites (I took a poll of the audience) were How Raven Freed the Sun and Osprey and Orca. By the time we got around to Osprey, Orca, their Kids named Cyborg and BeastBoy and a girl named Starfire, we were at the Field! Cedar survived the drive and the best part was heading up into the forest with Will to bushwhack and explore. So many of the big, old trees were down in sections that the younger trees were dancing, leaning, and singing in the wind. We were jumping logs, climbing, falling, running, slipping. Cedar had a ball. I have never seen a Sheltie grin quite like that on him. He was one tired boy by the time we headed down. That was the best for me and my spirit. I needed to be in the trees with the only sounds were the birds and the trees themselves. The holes underneath some of the bigger trees that had blown down were as big and deep as my house in tall and long. Did some letting go into one of those holes. I hadn't really realized that I was grieving letting go of the students that I have been teaching for five years straight. That will end in just a few weeks.
It was quite fun hanging out in the house with the kids and AUntie Bean and Uncle Wiggley. Toward twilight, Tasha said"Turn on the lights. We can't see. Someone turn on the lights, please." We grown-ups looked at each other and laughed. This was the beginning of teaching these darlings about life off the grid. That was the teachable moment about candles. Then there was lighting the fire (chopping wood came before that). I enjoyed the "Where do I flush?'...well, you don't. That's a compositing toilet. Here's what you do." Then there was the how do you pump water to wash your hands? Cedar did not like the sound of the old-fashioned water pump (think Helen Keller old style). We fixed that. In the morning was, "turn on the fire, please"...another lesson. We played Sheltie ball down in the garden and Tasha sang a song to him to find the ball. We sing it here now.:) I fell asleep under the round window with the near full moon shining right on me and the sound of frogs buzzing around. Cedar reacted to the frogs, too. It was funny.

Enjoyed a quiet rest of the Sunday working on report cards and playing with my dog. I had another tea"date" with harp boy. He is awfully nice and we enjoyed ourselves and will do it again. He has a nice smile that reaches into his eyes. I hope he is not a weirdo. It doesn't matter though. I am enjoying this for what it is, and I don't need/want/or expect anything else.
On the adoption front, things have opened wide open and fast. Sort of like Frodo, Sam, and Strider getting into one of the elf boats of Lothlorien and moving into the main current. I am in the boat ready to move out. I have a conversation scheduled with one of the program coordinators this afternoon which will provide with me direct steps as to how to proceed. I have a feeling that this January is going to bring a lot of changes. I can't wait to use this summer to recreate this space for family. Coli said she would help and I am finally excited...it's finally happening. Blessings on this day and this journey. Book group is this Friday ..I am looking forward to that.