alive

2.24.2016


Things have been coming alive recently - camellias in bloom, daffodils about to open, wild violets popping up through the grass, bright green leaves on the lilac tree - and it's easy to forget it's actually still winter.  Driving to Mt. Hood on Sunday was a quick reminder.  We ended up at the Tamanawas trailhead, a favorite hike of ours.  Under a clear blue sky and a golden sun that occasionally made its way down through the towering trees, we hiked until the snow got deeper and colder and wetter than we were prepared for.  We didn't make it to the falls this time, but oh, what a beautiful day.  


Watch:
  • Alive Inside.  I was a social work major for a while during my brief time in college and I wanted to work with the elderly.  I did volunteer work at nursing homes and was always so saddened to see spirit and light missing in so many eyes.  This film made my heart want to burst.
  • On The Way To School.  Thor only watched part of this with us, but it was an eye-opener for him.  
  • The Man In The High Castle.  The US lost WWII and the Nazi Reich and Japanese Pacific States rule the country. 

With spring in the air, we're starting to plan our garden.  Time always seems to slip away from me and before I know it, it's way late to plant certain things I had "planned."  I've never started seed trays inside, but I may try that in the next few weeks to ensure timeliness.  We want less lawn and more garden this year!  Hopefully we can get at least two more beds put in.  I'm already dreaming of tomatoes and more tomatoes, but this year I'd really like to focus on more flowers, too.  Ah, spring.  Let's do this...

I hope your late winter/early spring is treating you kindly, and that you are filled with dreams of growing things, too.  

w/r/l

2.12.2016

 Oxbow Regional Park, 02.06.2016


I thought I would bring back my watch/read/listen posts every now and then.  There's nothing too exciting to reveal, but here's a sampling from the last week or two.

Watch:  
  • Resistance.  About antibiotics.  Not all germs are created equal.  
  • I Am.   We've seen this a few times before but recently watched it again.  So many good points.    
  • Charlie's Country.  Changing aboriginal life.

Read:
  • The Year of Magical Thinking, by Joan Didion.  I'm not sure how it is I've never read Didion before.  Must read more. 
  • Station Eleven, by Emily St. John Mandel.  Not my usual fare, but I really liked this.   
  • A Man Called Ove, by Fredrik Backman.  I just started this yesterday and am only halfway through, but in the first chapter I knew I loved Ove.

Have a love♥ly weekend.  See you next week. 

impermanence & eternity

2.04.2016

Clackamas River wanderings, late January.

Changes.  Cycles.  Beginnings.  Endings.  Death.  Rebirth.  Impermanence.  Eternity.  These things have been on my mind the last few weeks. 

Perhaps it is silly to still love the artist you fell in love with when you were 15, and to feel so heartbroken at his death, but David Bowie went from being the most beautiful and fascinating creature I'd ever seen or heard back then, to being just dear to me after all these years...utterly belovedHe opened doors with a million little paths to explore beyondHis voice, so familiar to me for so long in all its intonations, feels like a part of my physical makeup, hardwired in, like home, always meant to be there.  Always there.  His song goes on forever.

The next day my maternal grandmother died of cancer.  I had the privilege of knowing her and having her in my life for the last 13 years, and I am grateful for every one of those.  I'm so glad my son was able to know her and will always remember her.  My thoughts here turn to the many, many branches of my family tree, and out of respect for those closest to her, I shall keep them private and in my heart.  Remembering you with much love, Ona Love.

How quickly time slips away.  How fast life goes by.  How impermanent and yet eternal it all seems.  Through it all, love lives on.
by mlekoshi