Stain-glass Eyes

A Lamp made from Michigan Agates I was invited to go to a "Rock/Geology Show" this weekend.  The title is too good to not include in this writing,  The Central Michigan Lapidary & Mineral Society, 48th Annual Show.  If you're thinking like me, you thought, "I missed 47 shows already?" I looked up lapidarist.  It's "an expert in precious stones and the art or techniques used in cutting and engraving them".   They held the show at the fairgrounds in Mason, Michigan.  I was surprised to see so many cars and even more surprised when I walked in the building and saw so many people of all ages.  And rocks.  Big, small, polished, natural, historical, prehistoric, I loved it.  I met my friend, Carol Davis there and we started out with the "Rock Hound Pose" and walked out ,four hours later, with our spine rounded and our heads tilted forward.  Carol, demonstrating the "Rock Hound Pose" They'll Never ...

I t's cold and wintery.  Good thing there are things that keep me distracted from the shorter daylight time and the chilling cold.   A big distraction for me is whether I'm ready to be outside, or whether I'll need to run back into the apartment to get an extra layer of clothes (and gloves).  It always seems to look so nice and beautiful from my third floor window. It's been my first experience being invited to a "Chili Cook-Off".  This distraction did me good.  I dug out my crockpot and made a big pot of chili.  I chopped and sautéd onions, celery and carrots.  I opened several cans of tomatoes and beans.  I browned some good looking beef and turkey burger.  I can't name all the ingredients, it would be divulging too much.   Of course I did add chili powder, that's no secret.    My niece, Sarah, invited me to her family's party.  I felt honored to be asked and wouldn't have missed it.  But, I could n...

I find revealing my feelings comes with a vast responsibility.  When I expose how I feel, I'm left naked. I normally want to hurry and cover myself back up.  Feelings are vulnerable to criticism, just like the body is to being naked.  Not only are feelings multi-faceted, they have layers of reality and fantasy intertwined.  It makes them harder to protect.  Wide open to a direct hit. The responsibility is in being proud of them.  If I'm revealing them, I've already let down my guard. So the weapons of defense aren't within reach.  The damage can be done quickly and brutally.  If an attack does come, I have to be able to get back up, stand by my feelings and show the beauty of my nakedness.  To take ownership and satisfaction in whatever feelings I have. The question becomes,                How can I be my vulnerable-self and still maintain strength and self-confidence?   ...

Me, Posing by a Lazy Group of Goats I was able to visit a very small village while in Turkey.  My friend, Birim was navigating.  We were heading for Sansara Kanyonu, (a tourist spot) from Birim's lake house, in the small town of İznik.  She doesn't have the language barrier I have with the language. She's Turkish.  It really helped, when we found ourselves up in the hills. The roads were horrible, there were no road signs, and no towns to find people, to ask for help in finding the canyon.  After about two hours of driving, we knew we should turn around and go back over the nasty terrain we had just come over.  The canyon was nowhere in sight and the bottom of Birim's car kept banging as we drove through potholes, large rocks and an extremely uneven road.  The road was also narrow.  It was scary to think about turning around on it.  Even more scary to think about going back the way we had come. The Beginning Part of Our Trip U...

It's my niece, Jenna's 11th birthday, today. (My brother, Tim's daughter) I'll be heading for Troy, to stay a couple of days.  It's nice to have about the same distance as driving St. Ignace to Sault Ste. Marie .  It's nice to be close to family. AND....it's nice to be close to birthday cake, too. Jenna's behind my sister, Kathy and her granddaughter, Amelia

Maggie With Her Hand in the Jaw (Artwork on wall on building near Eastern Market-Detroit) It took me many years to realize, I'm smart.  And longer to realize, I'm capable of learning beyond what I imagined.   I know wisdom is a different kind of smart.  The realization of having wisdom has come slowly for me.  Painfully.  I've had to earn my patches in wisdom, one by one.  Link by link.  When the links in this chain breaks, (which it inevitably does), I have to pick up the links, sort through them, and re-attach them.  One by one.  They don't always end up in the same order.  But, they seem to get me through the next hurdle in life.   Just reading the wise thoughts and stories of others, doesn't quite lead toward earning the patches. I sang Carol King's song, "Home Again", for years.    "Snow is cold, rain is wet, chills my bones right to the marrow, I won't be happy till I see you,    ...