Universal Messages

It's been a while since I've blogged, other than what I did yesterday, but that seems to be the way I roll. And so it is.

I wanted to make a special note of something that happened to me yesterday, just so I have it somewhere other than the lost jungle of my mind.

Yesterday, Makenna and I drove Jordan down into town for work. We usually go a bit early so we can have coffee and chat with our friends at Mount Dora Coffee House. On Tuesdays I usually leave the coffee house and head over to the art center to work there for a while. Well, all of this occurred, but yesterday Makenna was also trying to connect with our neighbor Val to hang out with her for a bit. We walked all over town and couldn't find her. I went to the art center prepared to give them some time, and no staff was there. Veterans Day. So, it's a strange kind of morning, it seems like nothing is working out too well. It's not a big deal, it just seems kind of weird.

By this time we both are getting hungry, but we're not sure if we feel like heading home. We decide to go by Cecile's French Cafe and split our favorite lunch. They have quiche Lorraine and serve it with a very nice tossed salad on the side. Add a good lemonade and we're in.

One of the cool things about Cecile's is that they have the whole patio outside of the restaurant and there are many tables and chairs with umbrellas, etc. They have a lot of plants and a pergola filled with blue sky vine and it's all very nice, very Florida. It's a great place to watch people stroll by.

Anyway, Makenna and I choose a table and sat down. Our waiter comes over he greets us and remembers me by asking me if I'm planning on drawing today. This makes me laugh because it feels interesting to me that he would even remember me, let alone the fact that I sat sketching on a napkin the last time I was there. I had gone on a Sunday when I had some time alone while Rich was spending time with the girls.

So today, he takes our drink order, I get out my knitting (it's Christmas work time, must knit at all opportunities) and Makenna gets out her sketching. When he brings back our drinks he tosses down the napkin from the last time I was there and asks me if I would finish it, that I've left an unfinished corner. Apparently he's kept it this whole time.

I told Makenna, as I was sketching on the napkin, that sometimes life is funny. Sometimes when you just don't know what's going on, the Universe sends you this little message that tells you to keep going, keep being who you are, keep plugging away. This napkin, this waiter, well they seem like messengers of the Universe to me. At least that's how I'm choosing to see it.

Yesterday, in many ways, was a difficult day for me. And yet, I still have a part of yesterday that was completely wonderful. I can't let this part get lost in the whole.

Magnolia Fest 2008

Hey there,

Here are a few photos from when Makenna and I went to MagFest this year. We went on the way up to North Carolina this year. It rained for a lot of the day, but that didn't deter us, did it? No!

This is a picture of the main stage,

and the next pic is the hammock section in the back area. We love the hammock section.

Here's the Sugar Shack, man their Veggie Thing is to die for, a tortilla laid open on the grill, add cheese, and load on the veggies...spinach, broccoli, carrots, lettuce, add salsa, and wrap it up like a big taco and chow. I like to add hot sauce, but Makenna likes it just fine without.

We love these guys. They're from Bristol, Tennessee and we look forward to seeing them every year. This year I spoke with the owner and he was telling me his wife is attending ETSU, and he loves Asheville and lots of other stuff that I think is cool but everyone else will think is BorInG. Community feels like community, no matter how large and he made me feel like that area, which I hope to move to sometime in my life, has a sense of community for me. Little bits, combined, add up.

Here are some straight out Festival Shots. Part of the fun of going to festivals is all the people and sights, not just the sounds. I needed this festival so badly, mentally, and I really didn't' even know it until I got there and felt the ease seep into my body. It was like "Here are my people, whew!" Nice. About the pics. So....Airstream trailers are awesome, and then the fashions are beyond belief. This guy on the right made a whole necklace out of old ring tabs which they stopped making in the '70's. He was totally into it, lol. This year, as just something to do, Makenna and I decided to do a photographic "treasure hunt". We made a list of things to capture and then compared our evidence at the end of the day. Our list was something like this... Jewelry, Sign, Person, Vehicle, Bike, Art, and Hammock. Some of these photos were from that list. Treasure hunts are fun in many capacities, yes? yes. A photographic treasure hunt is an invitation to look around and really see. Really look. Then be invasive and take pictures! Hurray.

Festivals are so awesome.

206 to 244

Well, it was Saturday morning this morning. That means you'll find Makenna and I - if you were alooking - at the Mount Dora Coffee Shop, either playing cards, or if this morning is any indicator, playing Scrabble. Jordan has a great travel Scrabble game, and it does as the name implies, and travels, well. Little tiles that snap in, little trays for the tiles, it's all very cute.

Last night I asked Makenna if she'd care to join me at the coffee shop for some cards and coffee (or iced tea in her case), a muffin or a bagle and cream cheese and some time together. this would be completely open time, no watch watching, no beginning or end except of our making. She hearily agreed. Last Friday we did this, but we played Garbage, a card game that Daphne taught us. We played round after round, until one of us won, which we had never done before. Neither one of us had ever played long enough to get to a win. Coffee shops are great for this kind of free time.

this is Daphne, Hi Daphne!

Well anyay, last week we did, twice. Friday I won. Saturday we did it all over again, and Makenna won.

You can tell it's summer. I'm feeling that summer feeling of let's just hang out, spend time together, and play much more the last couple of weeks than I remember doing in such a long time. It's very nice.

And, Makenna beat me at Scrabble today...206 to 244. Go Makenna!

Slice of Joy

Last night Torin was here. He worked close by and drove over on his motorcycle to stay with us and be able to go to work this morning from here. For those of you who don't know, Torin is Jordan's boyfriend. He lives in Winter Park, so being here is not a daily occurrence.

Torin is a teenage boy, and Torin can eat. So...no wimpy dinners when he's here. This can be a good thing because sometimes when it's just the girls and I wimpy dinners happen, maybe more than they should. Last night it was Alaskan Wild Salmon, grilled asparagus and a great tossed salad. Bread and butter got added spontaneously at the end because, well, Torin was here, why not?

The slice of joy part for me was on a few levels. I had gone to the market while Makenna was doing karate so by the time we got home everyone was hungry. I knew that it was going to take multiple hands to make this quicker so we could all eat. I set Jordan to work on cutting carrots and apples for the salad, and Torin was given the job of culling out the good grapes from the sad, tired throwaway grapes. I did the fish with fresh lemon, lemon zest, fresh parsley, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and garlic. I did the asparagus pretty much the same way. And then cooked it all on the grill, as a thunderstorm approached. Life in FL, take heat, add thunderstorm, lather, rinse, repeat. Emphasis on the repeat.

While we were all working together, there was Pandora on the computer, so music....and talking, goofing around, teasing Jordan, Torin catching grapes in his mouth, and cooking together. My home was filled with joy, friends, love, life, laughter and it was what my heart has been craving. Really craving. Life has been challenging lately, sometimes wonderful, sometimes dark. Through it there's been a sense of finding myself, what makes my heart sing, who I am, and where I'm going, and not just getting lost in the pain.

My children, and their friends, my friends - new and old - and my own self, this is what my heart needs, this is what my home needs. In deep gratitude for a night of simple pleasure.

Princess for a moment

So, Makenna and I found ourselves at Luigi's Italian restaurant the other night. They sent me a coupon for a free dinner for my birthday to be used before the new month started. We decided to go and check it out, on the last day of the month. Procrastination, who saw that coming?

We arrived at the restaurant and were getting situated when Makenna pulled a tiara out of her jacket she had all bundled up. "What's this?" I ask. She says "It's your birthday, you have to wear it!" Oh my. So, in the spirit of celebration and overall fun I plunked the tiara on my head. Not long after that the waitress came over to take our order. I announced "It's my birthday, I'm wearing a tiara." or something like that. She took our order and when she repeated it to us, for clarity mind you (or fast thinking in the spirit of playing along), she said "Kids cheese ravioli with marinara for you and Chicken Picata for the princess!"

Yeah brother, Chicken for the Princess.

I wore that tiara all through dinner, paid the check and walked out of the restaurant, head held high, tiara balanced perfectly. Not only did I do that, I stopped for gasoline on the way home and left it on then, too.

Your birthday only comes once a year, you know....and when your girl asks you to wear a tiara, well...you do it.

Student of Life - Officially

Here's something new and exciting that's happening in my life. Today I went to pay for my class at Lake Sumter Community College, and get my parking pass, and get everything in order for my first class starting on August 26th. Design and Color.

I'm going back to school. I'm working on my Associates degree. I'm majoring in Art.

With the encouragement from my therapist, Michael Rebel, and after some personal work involving a bat and some anger, I got the strength, courage, and confidence to figure out what I want to do in my life for me. For sure, one thing was to turn in my application at Lake Sumter. I had no idea how I was going to pay for it, but I have a new plan of action these days. Previously, I always had to have everything in order before taking a first step. Now, I'm practicing identifying what I want and then just taking the first step, knowing that things will unfold as they need to and I'll be able to figure it out as I go.

So, with my new plan I decided to fill out the application and just turn it in. And ask questions. And by the end of the afternoon I had been to several departments and ended up in the Career Center. That's where they told me about a grant that I qualify for, a "displaced homemaker" grant. Oh, what a horrendous name, but what an equally glorious concept. "Pick your class and come back at the end of the month and we'll give you a voucher to pay for it." Um, OK...are you sure I qualify, are you sure. YES! And I'm on the path, taking the first baby steps to what I've wanted for a long time.

So, Celebration. Joy.
Dare I say... Hope?

My heart gets fluttery just thinking about it.

Spring at Rock Springs

Hello there.

Spring has sprung here in Florida and that means it's time for tubing down the springs once again. On Thursday the LIFE gang and the girls and I went to Rock Springs, our local spring that's in the "tubing" variety of springs. We rented a tube from the little dive bar on the corner before you get to the springs (Note to self: avoid that next time, $5 bucks for a one shot deal and money could be save just by blowing up the tube in the garage) and paid the $3 to get into the park.

The water right now is clear as clear can be and (bonus) the flowers and grasses are still in Spring shape so the run is wide and easy to maneuver. Nothing has become overgrown yet so to speak.

Right now it seems to be just the most perfect time to go. There's tree shade for sun avoidance so staying cool is easy, and yet sitting in the sun is necessary to warm up before going into the 72 degree water. Ah, balance....not to mention the hordes of people have yet to arrive.

Here's a bit of what we saw and experienced while we were there on Thursday.

• an otter playing in the cow lilies right off of the bank of the run near where our blankets and chairs were
• Speaking of cow lilies (or spatterdock), we saw them, and spider lilies, and pickerel weed, to mention a few.
• snail eggs everywhere, on the plants and on the wall by the sharks teeth digging area
• lots of turtles sunning themselves everywhere
• lots of tattoos - ha! There're always sitings of lots of tattoos at Rock Springs.
• When I first got in the run there was a barred owl doing his "who cooks for you" in the woods around us.
• a huge skink, the largest I ever saw, probably about 8 inches long and about 1.5 inches wide in the torso...No kidding.

I'm so often aware of the powerful beauty here in Florida. All this just from going to the park for a cool water play day. It was sublime.

Gratitude.

Learning About Wildflowers

I currently am working on wildflowers. I am learning names and habitat and edibility (is that word?!) and those that know me would know what a slow process this is going to be. No matter, life is life, slower is better than no-er, so onward....

Spiderwort - seen this March on the Lake County Water Authority hike at the sinkhole off of Robie Ave in Mount Dora, currently seen blooming all over including in Sue's yard. I might go dig some up!

Innocence - This little white groundcover was just delightful on my hike with the LCWA in March

Wood Sorrell - Lyn and I ate some of this delicious lemony plant right off of the Oklawaha River outside of the Ocala National Forest in March during our weekend workshop.

Cupids Shaving Brush - Lake County Water Authority hike March 2008

Phlox - Shows up all over, fields full of the stuff.

Film Festival 2008 - Eat It Up

Well, it's already time for the Film Festival again. This year Jordan and Sadie volunteered a bit. It wasn't that exciting (read: it was boring) but I think with these types of things it really matters what exactly you sign up for. The girls ripped tickets at the Enzian for a hamburger documentary. Yep, two girls who either are, or recently have been, vegetarians ripping tickets for a documentary on hamburgers. Jordan also volunteered at the table outside of the Regal Cinema, also boring (she says). I think the feedback Jordan would give regarding volunteering is that she felt under utilized. She was there willing to work but there seemed to not be enough work, or maybe the work wasn't being delegated very well.

I still feel inclined to make the effort to volunteer next year. I spent $30 on the three movies I saw, two of which were on a day I drove Jordan down to volunteer. She got in free to two of those three movies....so, you see where I'm going with this. This year I chickened out a bit with signing up for the volunteering, just because I wasn't sure if I'd be able to fit in seeing movies and also volunteering. I prioritized seeing over doing both. Not next year though.

So, onto the movies I saw. The first was a selection of shorts called Shorts#1-Hustle. Three of the filmmakers were there for a short Q&A afterwards: William Slichter of Flourtown, Rajeev Dassani of A Day's Work, and Gregg Brown who did Shrinks. All the films were quirky and good in that "short film" sort of way. I liked sharing that with Jordan, she and I both have an enjoyment of short films. Makenna does as well, it's just so hard to tell what these guys are rated, which makes it a bit more of a wildcard for her.

On Friday I drove Jordan up for her shift outside of the Enzian and had the wonderful pleasure of having lunch with good friends Sue D, Lisa B, and Lyn M. We went to Ethos, a vegan restaurant owned by the daughter of our friend Shirley from Simple Living Institute. It was delish and one of the many benefits of eating there (besides my friends and the treat of time away) was eating good, delicious, healthy, wholesome food prepared by someone else! Ah ha. That's so wonderful. After lunch the girls and I headed over to the Regal to catch Lili and the BoabubTree. Cynthia and Sadie joined us there for the film

The movie was in French and Pulaar (african) with English subtitles. From the Enzian website: This compelling, picturesque story reveals a woman finding herself and the world in an emotional journey of discovery worth making. Freelance photographer Lili (Romane Bohringer in a superb performance) is assigned to document Agnam, Senegal, the sister city of her hometown of Cherbourg. There she is warmly welcomed by the community, and she experiences its rich life. She connects to a quietly independent and unmarried woman, Aminata (Aminata Zaaria), not unlike herself, although they share no common language. Economic migration, post-colonialism, and cultural divides are all issues here, but the film avoids the traps of proselytizing and cultural tourism. Instead, it offers a slice of life lived, with Lili seeing the Normandy coast differently upon her return, and also showing the contradictions of the communal lifestyle she leaves behind but does not forget. The strength of both women and Lili’s life-affirming connection with the world under a Senegalese baobab tree gives hope in a film of uncommon depth, intelligence, and beauty.

It was the perfect film to see with a group of friends. Fascinating and heart expanding, lovely.

After the film, I met Jordan and Torin outside in the hallway, made a quick break for the loo, ran next door to grab a bite of pizza and Pepsi, then back into the Enzian for the International Narrative Shorts. So, exchange 4 women friends for 2 teenagers and I'm off. These shorts are always favorites of mine simply because I adore hearing the accents, seeing the different names on the marque, and reading subtitles. I know, I know....I'm a bit much at times. But, alas, that is me. Loved these shorts with the grand finale of Spider at the end. It's all fun and games until someone loses and eye. Side note: Gregg Brown of Shrinks sat a couple of seats over from me, in the front of the row, so I got to chat a tiny bit with him. That was cool.

So that was this years 17th Annual Florida Film Festival. Check out last year's blog for past experiences. I can't wait for next year already!

It Must Be Spring

Hello Spring!

On the 22nd of March Makenna informed me that the pitcher on the back of our hose reel again has what looks to be a nest being built in it. I had seen a little bird activity around that area just that morning and was wondering if it was our House Wrens from last year, or just a little bird caught away from the brush. I'm so happy it's The Wrens, our wrens, Mr. and Mrs Wren from last year.

Today, the 3rd of April, Makenna told me that she saw 4 little eggs in the nest. So, not only did the nest get built but Mrs. chose it as her nest. You never know with these things, Daddy Wrens can build a couple to four nests and Momma gets to choose her favorite. I'm so glad she chose us. Last year I just couldn't believe she would choose that nest, it just doesn't seem to be the safest or least stressful nest. But once they raised a brood of babies I was hopeful we'd see them again this year. And here they are.


This is a great shot of last years wren and the nest, I have still yet to get one of them this year.

Welcome Back!


****SAD UPDATE ON WRENS: due to lots of rain this year, the pitcher nest wasn't such a good idea. No drainage made a situation the eggs couldn't survive and this clutch didn't progress. We pitched the whole pitcher, it was a mess.

Lace cookies

We love Lace Cookies.

One thing I just couldn't seem to get to making this holiday was Lace Cookies. Well, we had a cold front come in so we decided to make it a baking day. Makenna and I cranked up the oven and whipped up a batch.

They are the yummiest cookies, delicate, buttery, sweet, crispy.

They should be gone tomorrow.

Here's the recipe.

Lace Cookies

1 cup oats (rolled)
1 cup sugar
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp baking powder
2 TBSP + 1 tsp flour
1 stick butter – melted
1 beaten egg
2 tsp vanilla

Put dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and use a whisk to sift them together.
Pour butter over dry mix.
Add egg and vanilla and mix well.
Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Drop 1/2 tsp batter 2 inches apart and bake at 325 for 12 minutes.
Allow to cool slightly, until they firm up a bit, then remove from parchment and continue cooling on a baking sheet. Reuse the parchment over and over.

Happy 2008