LoveNut: LoveNut is a blog. Unless noted, photography & content ©JJ Leatherman

Revisiting Letting Go (A recycled Blog Post~from my very 1st)

2012-01-02T12:33:00.000-05:00

Let Go….

To let go does not mean to stop caring, it means I can't do it for someone else.

To let go is not to cut myself off, it's the realization I can't control another.

To let go is not to enable but to allow learning from natural consequences.

To let go is to admit powerlessness, which means the outcome is not in my hands.

To let go is not to try to change or blame another, it's to make the most of myself.

To let go is not to care for , but to care about.

To let go is not to fix, but to be supportive.

To let go is not to judge, but to allow another to be a human being.

To let go is not to be in the middle arranging all the outcomes but to allow others to affect their destinies.

To let go is not to be protective, it's to permit another to face reality.

To let go is not to deny but to accept.

To let go is not to nag scold or argue, but instead to search out my own shortcomings and correct them.

To let go is not to adjust everything to my desires but to take each day as it comes, and cherish myself in it.

To let go is not to criticize and regulate anybody but to try to become what I dream I can be.

To let go is not to regret the past, but to grow and live for the future.

To let go is to fear less, and love more.

Sunset in the Apple Tree

2011-08-25T11:11:00.001-04:00

Apple, a photo by jj leatherman on Flickr.

Secret Lives by lovenut · 365 Project

2011-04-21T10:26:00.000-04:00

Secret Lives by lovenut · 365 Project

After the storm

2011-04-20T12:53:00.003-04:00

after the storm, a photo by jj leatherman on Flickr.

Precious black locust tree blossoms were blown off last night in the storm. Since they just started opening, they didn't lose as many as they could have. Our spring harvest of honey is Acacia honey which is actually from a False Acacia Tree.This info. is from Wiki:

Common name	Origin	Characteristics & Availability^[2]
Acacia	Eastern North America and Europe. The main producers are Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania but it is also found in Canada, China, France and Italy.	Acacia honey is actually from a false acacia, Robinia pseudoacacia, commonly known as black locust, a tree native to eastern North America and widely planted in Europe. The honey in the US is sometimes labeled "American Acacia". It has a lower acid content than other honeys. Its high fructose content means that it can stay liquid for a long tim

Locust Blossoms 4-20-2011

2011-04-20T12:52:00.003-04:00

Locust Blossoms 4-20-2011, a photo by jj leatherman on Flickr.

Locust Blossoms are opening 4-20-2011

2011-04-20T12:52:00.001-04:00

Locust Blossoms are opening 4-20-2011, a photo by jj leatherman on Flickr.

Eye of Argus, Eye of Joy

2011-04-17T01:04:00.007-04:00

Eye of Argus, Eye of Joy, a photo by jj leatherman on Flickr.

Awake

2011-04-17T01:04:00.005-04:00

Awake, a photo by jj leatherman on Flickr.

tree of life

2011-04-17T01:04:00.003-04:00

tree of life, a photo by jj leatherman on Flickr.

fairy tale tree

2011-04-17T01:04:00.001-04:00

fairy tale tree, a photo by jj leatherman on Flickr.

Copper fingernails beckon me

2011-04-17T01:03:00.005-04:00

Copper fingernails beckon me, a photo by jj leatherman on Flickr.

Dancers in the apple tree 3

2011-04-17T01:03:00.003-04:00

Untitled, a photo by jj leatherman on Flickr.

Dancers Tree Sepia

2011-04-17T01:03:00.001-04:00

Untitled, a photo by jj leatherman on Flickr.

dancers tree

2011-04-17T01:02:00.001-04:00

dancers tree, a photo by jj leatherman on Flickr.

High Waters of the Ohio

2011-03-19T16:22:00.001-04:00

High Waters of the Ohio a photo by jj leatherman on Flickr.

The waters of March at our Ohio riverfront in Paducah, Ky...

David

2011-03-16T12:26:00.001-04:00

David a photo by acrimonious on Flickr.

From acrimonious...Inspiring Composition

Art Deco

2011-03-14T09:44:00.001-04:00

montage mucha a photo by jodytld on Flickr.

Art Deco Inspirations

cardinal wings open

2011-02-07T17:20:00.003-05:00

cardinal wings open
Originally uploaded by jj leatherman

Feeding the birds this winter has saved me from developing full-on cabin fever. It has provided hours of birdwatching and photo opps.

Many cardinals have visited my patio. This guy was trying to take off in some heavy snow fall, and it made a pretty picture.

Moon Rabbit {from the Mayan to the ancient Asians}

2011-01-25T11:37:00.001-05:00

I have become fascinated with how cultures have viewed 'the rabbit' on the moon...
Going to supplement my boys' schoolin' with some homeschoolin' on:

MIMETOLITHS-(this concept perfect for my rock-hounds)1b. "Rabbit on the Moon," pattern of darker areas of full moon (circumferance- 10,864 km -- i.e.,~ 6790 miles) as seen from Chile. Clicked image consists of three parts: Left to right, the Full moon, the "Rabbit on the moon," and a glyph of the Mixtec culture of Mexico. It is hypothesized that "the Mixtecas probably saw a rabbit-like shape on the surface of the full moon, and thus elaborated the glyph that represents the moon as a rabbit." (Patricio Bustamante, personal communication, March, 2008). For an explanatory text (in Spanish), see http://rupestreweb.info/hierofania.html ,

& The Rabbit

what it means for the Maya:

MAYA MOON - DOÑA LUNA

TEACHING IDEAS
from Marianne Mitchell

Maya Moon is a folktale from Mexico that "explains" why the moon changes shape. Here are some ways to use the story to supplement your curriculum. These activities can be adapted for grades K-3.

CULTURE
Mayan civilization flourished in the area of today's southern Mexico and Guatemala from about 300 A. D. until about 1700 A. D. The Mayas built huge cities and had extensive trading routes with other cultures, some as far away as New Mexico. For unknown reasons, these great cities were abandoned and lay hidden under dense jungle growth for many years. National Geographic Magazine has featured Mayan culture in several issues and is a good resource for more information.
GEOGRAPHY
Get out the map of Mexico and Central America and study where the Mayas lived. Did they live in a desert or a tropical environment? Did they live in the mountains or by the sea? What kinds of flora and fauna can be found where they lived. What was their most important crop?
ASTRONOMY
The Mayas were skilled astronomers and could predict lunar and solar eclipses. They studied the movement of the stars and the change of seasons and created a 365-day calendar that is almost as accurate as today's calendars, all without the aid of modern telescopes and computers. One of the remaining buildings at the city of Chichén Itzá is an observatory. Maya Moon is a folktale about why the moon changes shape. Discuss the scientific reasons why the moon appears in different sizes during the month.
ANIMALS
Maya Moon features four pesky sea turtles. Turtles also appear in many other Mayan legends. Have students learn about sea turtles-where they live, what they eat, how long they live, etc. How are they different from desert tortoises? Other animals were also important to the art, myths, and religion of the Mayas: rabbit, jaguar, deer, the quetzal and the hummingbird. Are any of these animals endangered today?
LITERATURE
What do other people around the world see on the face of the moon? Some see a face, a blacksmith, or a water girl. In Mexico, people say they see a rabbit on the moon. Some other books to share about the moon or about Mayan culture are: The Tale of Rabbit and Coyote by Tony Johnston, The Mystery of the Maya: Uncovering the Lost City of Palenque by Peter Lourie, Rain Player by David Wisniewski, Moon Rope by Lois Ehlert, and The Night the Moon Fell by Pat Mora.
SPANISH
Teach students new Spanish words from the story, Doña Luna: la luna (the moon), las tortugas (the turtles), la cueva (the cave), la cama (the bed), la luz (the light), los cuatro vientos (the four winds), la lluvia (the rain), la siesta (the nap), and Abuelita (Grandmother).
DRAMA
Help students make up a play based on Maya Moon. There are roles for the moon, four turtles, four winds, and the rain god Chac. Other students can be in a chorus or help design a mural for the backdrop. They can perform their play for parents or other classes.
WRITING
Most of the books created by the Mayas were destroyed by the Spanish conquistadors. The few that have survived reveal a detailed system of writing using picture glyphs. Their books were folded, accordion-style, and decorated with bright colors. Have students make folded books like the Mayas did. Instead of writing with words, they could make up a story using pictures or stamp art. Perhaps they could re-tell Maya Moon using glyphs, or pictures. Or they could make up other "how come" stories about things in nature.
MATH
The Mayas had a unique system of numbers using dots and bars instead of numerals like we do. They are credited with inventing the concept of zero using a shell symbol. They also invented a system of place value using a base of 20. Many of their glyphs and carvings feature numbers. Practice adding and subtracting the Mayan way. Have students write their numbers with bars and dots instead of numerals.

Return to the MAYA MOON - DONA LUNA page.

Happy Year of the Rabbit

2011-01-25T11:12:00.002-05:00

Yes, there is a rabbit on the moon. I've seen the hare there for sometime now and feel quite validated after reading about Japanese Culture on this beautiful blog from Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.: http://blog.alientimes.org/2011/01/for-the-year-of-the-rabbit-some-musings-on-rabbits-and-hares-in-japanese-culture-and-history/

'So while the Chinese, with their traditional calendar, are still in the Year of the Tiger ( until February 3rd 2011), in Japan, where the new year now begins in January,　we have already entered THE YEAR OF THE RABBIT.'

It is because of the connection with fertility and abundant offspring that the ancient Asians ( Indians, Chinese, Japanese, etc) have long said that there is a rabbit (hare) on the moon....

Image from http://www.cst.cmich.edu/users/dietr1rv/mimetoliths/

Image from http://news.3yen.com/page/175/

New Year's Eve 2010

2011-01-10T11:22:00.000-05:00

Performance for my friends' 65th Birthday party...he was born 65 years ago, December 31st. It was such an honor and a pleasure to spend the eve celebrating and honoring..I think 2011 is going to be a Stellar Year...

n'goni 12 cordes

2011-01-10T10:27:00.000-05:00

Favorite Quotes

2011-01-03T23:16:00.006-05:00

When inspiration calls, pick up the phone... {Will.i.am}

Quotation by Ellen Henrietta Swallow Richards

Ellen Henrietta Swallow Richards

As quoted in The Life of Ellen H. Richards by Carolin...The Outlook magazine (April 24, 1897)

Related Subjects

There are women in middle life, whose days are crowded with practical duties, physical strain, and moral responsibility ... they fail to see that some use of the mind, in solid reading or in study, would refresh them by its contrast with carking cares, and would prepare interest and pleasure for their later years. Such women often sink into depression, as their cares fall away from them, and many even become insane. They are mentally starved to death.

Ellen Henrietta Swallow Richards

Ellen Henrietta Swallow Richards (1842–1911), U.S. chemist and educator. As quoted in The Life of Ellen H. Richards, ch. 9, by Caroline L. Hunt (1912).

Written in the 1860s.

When it's over, I want to say: All my life, I was a bride married to amazement.

I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms."

--Mary Oliver

Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Those that are most slow in making a promise are the most faithful in the performance of it. Jean Jacques Rousseau

The eating of burning brimstone is an entirely fake performance. Harry Houdini

Every performance is different. That's the beauty of it. Van Morrison

Let your performance do the thinking. Charlotte Bronte

The author himself is the best judge of his own performance; none has so deeply meditated on the subject; none is so sincerely interested in the event. Edward Gibbon

An ounce of performance is worth pounds of promises. Mae West

December 18, 2010

2011-01-02T23:49:00.000-05:00

December 18, 2010 can not go unnoticed or undocumented {i.e. unblogged}…My youngest son’s Seventh Year on this planet begins. I celebrate his birth and blessedly giving birth once again...As I write it is January 2, 2011, we are heading into another decade. My resolutions are to relax and enjoy life as well as make a new business plan...to create a year of balance and joy.

Celebrating giving birth Nine Years ago today

2010-11-09T10:37:00.000-05:00

Making Mass amounts of Spaghetti and Meatballs today for my son's family birthday celebration. I can't get to my external drive for photos as my PC is down (imagine that) and I am working on my macbook. So, I am thinking of internet archives and remember these 2 phots that the Spanish Literary Journal :: Margen Cero hosts as entries to their first ever {Premiere} photo competition. Troy and I were first time parents with a camera and in love with life! So this is to make a note to self: Enter more photo competitions, and Remember to cherish life...it is what we make it...

I am grateful that these photos are hosted in Cyperspace...we are entries 13 & 14...

http://www.margencero.com/BIBLIO/fotografia/fotos_concurso.htm
http://www.margencero.com/BIBLIO/fotografia/fotos_concurso.htm

Steamboat DELTA QUEEN

2010-10-18T12:40:00.000-04:00

Revisiting Synchronicity : The Last Docking of The Delta Queen in The Port of Paducah, Kentucky

2010-10-18T10:47:00.003-04:00

This morning I woke up with The Delta Queen (song by Nathan Lynn and Bawn in the Mash) playing in my head...then all this morning, I think I am hearing the Calliope Whistle loudly announcing??? Something...So, I peruse the Ol' BLOG and find that we are nearing that sad anniversary. I think it's worth a re-post and a re-visit. There is something about synchronicity and nostalgia that never grows old...

SAVE THE QUEEN~October 27, 2008
On Synchronicity: The Delta Queen and Nathan Lynn

We went early and made a day of it starting with a good morning salute to the Queen, and then headed to the River Maritime Museum, then onto the Railroad Museum, next for lunch: Kirchoff's good soup and sandwiches and then onto Wildhair Studios to pick up my first music purchase of Bawn in the Mash's Atomic City, their first album. Finally, we got back in the car and re- parked right down by the river to watch the Queen leave the Paducah Port for what could be the very last time.

Still in the sunny part of our day before the Queen's departure while relaxing in the warmth of the car by the river, I put the Atomic City album on and listened and stared at the old gal that is the Delta Queen paddle boat, and tried not to cry too hard in front of the children, but I was really sad, and then a head pops in our window~who but the singer of our farewell serenade: Nathan Lynn: http://www.nathanblakelynn.com/index.php.

He popped his head in and said, 'hey I sing that song, that's me singin'" The boys were delighted, and I went and got his autograph, and he gave me a cd! I felt like the most privileged of fans.

www.save-the-delta-queen.org

After I hopped back in the car, my eldest son didn't believe that the person on the cd that we were listening to was who he said he was there at the river front, right in front of us, so I said~'hey, he's got that guitar on his back maybe he's about to prove it." So, then the boys and I shamelessly followed Lynn and Dixie up to where the river gage runs and Nathan commenced to singing his beautiful tune about none other than The Delta Queen. It was such an honor to be there at the confluence of great art and history.

Fort Massac at the Encampment 2010

2010-10-18T00:42:00.001-04:00

at the Encampment 2010
Originally uploaded by jj leatherman

Boydom

2010-10-15T20:24:00.001-04:00

my son on hail bails ~flying

In my inbox I get these: Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week From: DharmaOcean@lists.shambhala.com
http://lists.shambhala.com/mailman/listinfo/dharmaocean
October 15, 2010

FEARLESSNESS AND JOY ARE TRULY YOURS

When a warrior king presents a gift,
It could be a naked flame, which consumes the jungle of ego,
Or an ice cold mountain range, which cools the heat of aggression.
On the other hand, it could be a parachute.
One wonders whether it will open or not.
There is a further choice—Thunderbolt:
Whether you are capable of holding it with your bare hand is up to you.
So, my heartfelt child, take these gifts and use them
In the way that past warriors have done.

Joie de vivre

2010-09-15T12:52:00.001-04:00

Joie de vivre
Originally uploaded by jj leatherman

Happy Happy Joy Joy...I love these Coming of Age Portraits...

Simple Beauty

2010-09-15T12:51:00.001-04:00

Simple Beauty
Originally uploaded by jj leatherman

One of the beauties from my 'First Senior Portraits' set.

Flickr

2010-09-15T12:49:00.001-04:00

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Hope Collage

2010-07-15T19:56:00.002-04:00

Finally, I have a new piece up at the Benton Working Artist's Gallery~{B-WAG)...It is mixed media collage made with authentic vintage materials, dragon fly body, feathers, and my photography...

‘An Evening of Performance’

2010-06-04T02:03:00.000-04:00

‘An Evening of Performance’

Yay! First time I've been in the paper since Governor's Scholars...and the GS article is with it. Ha!

Photography~My First{ Indian}Wedding

2010-04-07T14:25:00.000-04:00

The Harbringers of Spring

2010-04-07T11:24:00.001-04:00

I took this in Land Between The Lakes for a Freelance Cover/piece I'm working on...This is the fave photo I've taken in a while. I feel peace and hope when I look at it=Making Peace...

My Ancestors

2010-03-22T12:10:00.001-04:00

The Lotus

2010-03-11T16:54:00.002-05:00

About the Lotus

Kindness Girl

2010-03-11T14:52:00.000-05:00

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.” Dr. King

Kindness Girl Inspires Me

Signs

2010-03-11T14:28:00.000-05:00

Yogini Me

2010-03-11T13:50:00.000-05:00

photo taken by my student, m. march 10, 2010

Knees of the Cypress Trees!

2010-03-01T12:31:00.001-05:00

I took these at Heron Lake in Southern Illinois this past weekend.

Plural of Moss=Moss

2010-03-01T12:23:00.002-05:00

i placed the moss at the entrance to our fairy hole (home), in the hole-with-moss pictured here~to give the fairies a nice cozy entrance...

WHY WORRY?

2010-02-24T00:42:00.001-05:00

Why Worry?

Facebook Memoriam Page

2010-02-23T23:05:00.002-05:00

A Chance to Deal with Death

Rearview Mirror Self-Portraits

2010-02-20T02:09:00.006-05:00

newest self-rearview mirror portrait pointing in the direction from which I was born

Inspired by Eddie: Rearview Mirror~Pearl Jam

fun guys

2010-02-20T02:02:00.001-05:00

our rabbit hole

2010-02-20T01:56:00.001-05:00

so magical to come into the woods after a snow and find things you left behind awaiting you...

At the lake 2/19/2010

2010-02-20T01:53:00.001-05:00

Grounded

2010-02-20T00:28:00.000-05:00

2010-02-18T11:41:00.001-05:00

Today is The Day!

2010-02-14T14:31:00.005-05:00

Yay! I marry myself today! It's Valentines Day~AND The Lunar New Year!!!! The Year of the Tiger.

A Special Valentine
If Love Could be tied in little bouquets, then you would have corsages the rest of your days...You Couldn't tell the corsages apart because they would be tied to the strings of my heart.

Bob the Caterpillar Cocooned!

2010-02-10T11:14:00.010-05:00

Our Bob in his cocoon on February 11, 2010

what Bob looked like last week...

"Wouldn’t it be fun to catch a Woolly Bear caterpillar and keep it alive in a jar, feed it everyday as it fattens and watch it? The caterpillar will hibernate through the cold part of winter. In the spring you can feed it again, watch it spin a cocoon of silk and hair. One week later it will “hatch” and the moth will emerge. Then you can set your Tiger moth free outside.Read more at Suite101: Woolly Bear Hunting: Caterpillar of Isabella Tiger Moth "

Our Wooly Bear Story: On January 21, 2010, it was a typical Western Kentucky day in that the weather had shifted from winter to what felt like spring. It was rainy, warm, balmy even. On this day, I found "Bob", our class room caterpillar. I am 99% sure that Bob was a Wooly Bear Caterpillar which predicts a hard winter, which it is...

Bob was found in the spring of our hard winter here...quite odd, indeed, no? But I think it is a gift of love from nature for our classroom.

And 21 days later, Bob cocooned!

We think Bob will turn into a Tiger Moth...But we are not quite sure. We will see in a???.....(still waiting March 11, 2010)

January 18, 2010

2010-01-31T00:04:00.003-05:00

The South

2010-01-30T23:58:00.001-05:00

Magic

2010-01-30T23:52:00.000-05:00

Self Portrait Images

2010-01-30T23:40:00.009-05:00

-December 22, 2009

between glass June 2008

New Year's Eve 2009

2010-01-30T23:18:00.004-05:00

January 30, 2009

2010-01-30T23:14:00.006-05:00

2010-01-29T16:13:00.004-05:00

photo taken in the woods behind my house (c) jj

DEATH, it's what I am dealing with:
maybe you are too, or maybe not, but this is what I need to post today:

Last night I saw a great Kevin Spacey movie, The Life of David Gale. The movie reminded me of the five stages of death and how destructive 'fantasy' can be...

From WIKI

Kübler-Ross model

Stages

Denial — "I feel fine."; "This can't be happening, not to me."
Denial is usually only a temporary defense for the individual. This feeling is generally replaced with heightened awareness of situations and individuals that will be left behind after death.^[1]
Anger — "Why me? It's not fair!"; "How can this happen to me?"; "Who is to blame?"
Once in the second stage, the individual recognizes that denial cannot continue. Because of anger, the person is very difficult to care for due to misplaced feelings of rage and envy. Any individual that symbolizes life or energy is subject to projected resentment and jealousy.^[1]
Bargaining — "Just let me live to see my children graduate."; "I'll do anything for a few more years."; "I will give my life savings if..."
The third stage involves the hope that the individual can somehow postpone or delay death. Usually, the negotiation for an extended life is made with a higher power in exchange for a reformed lifestyle. Psychologically, the individual is saying, "I understand I will die, but if I could just have more time..."^[1]
Depression — "I'm so sad, why bother with anything?"; "I'm going to die . . . What's the point?"; "I miss my loved one, why go on?"
During the fourth stage, the dying person begins to understand the certainty of death. Because of this, the individual may become silent, refuse visitors and spend much of the time crying and grieving. This process allows the dying person to disconnect oneself from things of love and affection. It is not recommended to attempt to cheer up an individual who is in this stage. It is an important time for grieving that must be processed.^[1]
Acceptance — "It's going to be okay."; "I can't fight it, I may as well prepare for it."
This final stage comes with peace and understanding of the death that is approaching. Generally, the person in the fifth stage will want to be left alone. Additionally, feelings and physical pain may be non-existent. This stage has also been described as the end of the dying struggle.^[1]

Kübler-Ross originally applied these stages to people suffering from terminal illness, later to any form of catastrophic personal loss (job, income, freedom). This may also include significant life events such as the death of a loved one, divorce, drug addiction, an infertility diagnosis. Kübler-Ross claimed these steps do not necessarily come in the order noted above, nor are all steps experienced by all patients, though she stated a person will always experience at least two. Often, people will experience several stages in a "roller coaster" effect - switching between two or more stages, returning to one or more several times before working through it.^[1]
Significantly, people experiencing the stages should not force the process. The grief process is highly personal and should not be rushed, nor lengthened, on the basis of an individual's imposed time frame or opinion. One should merely be aware that the stages will be worked through and the ultimate stage of "Acceptance" will be reached.
However, there are individuals that struggle with death until the end. Some psychologists believe that the harder a person fights death, the more likely they are to stay in the denial stage. If this is the case, it is possible the ill person will have more difficulty dying in a dignified way. Other psychologists state that not confronting death until the end is adaptive for some people.^[1] Those who experience problems working through the stages should consider professional grief counseling or support groups.

[edit] Cultural relevance

A dying individual's approach to death has been linked to the amount of meaning and purpose a person has found throughout their lifetime. A study of 160 people with less than three months to live showed that those who felt they understood their purpose in life, or found special meaning, faced less fear and despair, in the final weeks of their lives than those who had not. In this and similar studies, spirituality helped dying individuals deal with the depression stage more aggressively than those who were not spiritual. ^[1]

[edit] Criticism

According to George Bonanno^[2], professor of clinical psychology of Columbia University, in his book "The Other Side of Sadness: What the New Science of Bereavement Tells Us About Life After a Loss," based on two decades of rigorous scientific studies that follow people who have suffered losses in the U.S. and in other cultures, there is no evidence to support the Kübler-Ross theory^[3]
A 2000-2003 study of bereaved individuals conducted by Yale University obtained some findings that were consistent with the five-stage theory and others that were inconsistent with it. Several letters were also published in the same journal criticizing this research and arguing against the stage idea. ^[4] Skeptic Magazine published the findings of the Grief Recovery Institute, which contested the concept of stages of grief as they relate to people who are dealing with the deaths of people important to them.^[5]

20 Ways to Make Today Special

2009-09-24T00:55:00.003-04:00

from: Magical Childhood

20 Ways to Make Today Special

How many individual days do you remember from your childhood? How many were magical? Here's some things to try that your children will carry with them. And hopefully make you smile a little too...

Leave a secret "I love you" message hidden in a lunch box, painted on their pancakes or tucked into their shoes. Better yet, leave a dozen.
Fake a doctor's appointment. If you have kids in school, let them (and the school) think they have to get out of school for an appointment. Pick them up and take them to a picnic in the park instead (or whatever you'd both enjoy).
Have a tacky fashion show. Get together the loudest clothes you can find and give out awards for the worst entries. Eat supper in costume.
Write a letter telling your beloved(s) how much you love them, and why. Be specific.
Square dance. In the living room. Grown ups too. Make it up if you don't know how.
Tell your kids their birth stories. Add the little details and tell them if you cried or daddy wouldn't let them go.
Serve meals out of order. Have lunch for breakfast, desert for lunch, etc.
Eat it with the wrong utensils and be artistic with it. Pipe tartar sauce haikus across the fish sticks and then scramble them to make new poems. You get the idea.
Crawl under the table with your little one. Do at least three different normal activities under there (reading books, brushing teeth, snack time...)
Get together a pile of your children's artwork and take the kids to a senior citizen center. Pass out the art and spend time with the residents. Let your kids know how happy they made people.
Give your child a disposable camera and tell her to record all her favorite parts of her life with the photos.
Go for a long walk and just talk.
Play truth or dare.
Have a campout in the living room. Roast marshmallows over candles and tell ghost stories by flashlight.
If you have access to a camcorder, record at least an hour of silliness. Add some sentiment too, having everybody tell things they're thankful for, what they've loved about this year, and things they love about each other. Close with more silliness.
Help them decorate their rooms with glow-in-the-dark stars, bugs or images. Better yet, get GITD paint and they can paint their own.
Go on a road trip for the day, anywhere you've never been.
Write a silly poem or story just for him. Make him the hero and fill it with stuff he loves.
After dark, go look at the stars together.

20. Spend the whole day saying "mommy (or daddy) loves you." Say it so much you're annoying and strange! At the end of the night, tiptoe in and whisper it to them as they sleep. Fill them up with how loved they are, and tiptoe out.

Ruby Louise Nelson Honea (b. July 20, 1934-d. September 9, 2009)

2009-09-10T15:39:00.003-04:00

Mrs. Ruby Louise Nelson Honea, known as "Lou or Louise" to some and to others as 'Ruby Lou' was born at home on Old Hinkleville Rd. in Lamont, Ky (West Paducah) on 07-20-34, and died at home at 9710 Old Hinkleville Rd on 09-09-09. She was 75 years old.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Mr. Jesse Fields Nelson, Jr. and Mrs. Margaret Belle (Hester) Nelson of Lamont, and by her husband, Mr. Boyd Honea of Ruby, Alaska. She is survived by her Aunts and Uncles, Mr. and Mrs. Haven Kelley of Phoenix, Arizona, and Mr. and Mrs. Robert Nelson of Valdosta, Georgia; her sister, Judy Kinsey, her son, Michael Stowe, her daughter, Joy Holmes, four grand children: Jessica Leatherman, John Knight, Aaron Knight, and Paula Vines, three great grandchildren, Ian Leatherman, Tanner Leatherman, and Paige Knight, several loved nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Ruby Louise's education began in a one room school house. She was a member of the Heath High School class of 1952. Ruby Lou's great life work was dedicated to service in the field of drug and alcohol rehabilitation. After gaining her sobriety through working the twelve step program of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) she received education to become a substance abuse counselor in Seattle, WA and Anchorage, AK. For the majority of her career, she was a counselor in Fairbanks, Alaska, working primarily with Native Americans. After moving back home, she received her associate's degree from Paducah Community College in 1991 and taught DUI education in Paducah, KY. This year in November, Ruby Louise would have celebrated her AA Birthday with 39 years of sobriety.

In her own words, God gave her a gift: "the ability to speak from the heart to Alcoholics'. Her message to alcoholics and addicts was, "God Loves you, I love you, now love yourself, Don't drink and Go to meetings, What you receive, give away, I'll walk with you until you can walk by yourself." She was able to share her story with many and aid in their recovery. She always ended her story with the verse that she received on her very first Valentine. It said just what she felt about the members in AA and alcoholics and addicts everywhere:

If Love could be tied into little bouquets
Then you would have corsages the rest of your days
and you couldn't tell the corsages apart
Because they all would be tied to the strings of my heart

A memorial service will be held at 3:00 pm at McKendree United Methodist Church. Brother Bill Miller and Howard Pulley will be officiating. Visitation will be prior to the memorial service at 2:00 pm and after the service in the fellowship hall. To honor the life of Ruby Louise Nelson Honea, donations may be made to McKendree Church in her name or condolences may be sent to 9710 Old Hinkleville Rd., Kevil, KY 42053.

In the End, We are all light, (alright-allight)

2009-08-27T12:53:00.005-04:00

At The End of this Journey in Life: A Spanish Spiritual Lesson

music therapy for the day:

Al Final De Este Viaje en El Mundo this morning in meditation. I first came to know this song from a fellow Costa Rican camper at Playa Grande many many young moons ago....

This is a type of Spiritual Spanish Lesson.

Here goes my attempt to translate this...I hope my Spanish Speaking friends will chime in on of the subtleties and facets of translating Silvio Rodriguez's poetry.

Al Final de Este Viaje en el Mundo

Al final de este viaje en la vida quedarán
nuestros cuerpos hinchados de ir

a la muerte, al odio, al borde del mar.
Al final de este viaje en la vida quedará
nuestro rastro invitando a vivir.
Por lo menos por eso es que estoy aquí.
Somos prehistoria que tendrá el futuro,
somos los anales remotos del hombre.
Estos años son el pasado del cielo;
estos años son cierta agilidad
con que el sol te dibuja en el porvenir,
son la verdad o el fin, son Dios.

Quedamos los que puedan sonreír
en medio de la muerte, en plena luz.

Al final de este viaje en la vida quedará
una cura de tiempo y amor,
una gasa que envuelva un viejo dolor.
Al final de este viaje en la vida quedarán
nuestros cuerpos tendidos al sol
como sábanas blancas después del amor.

Al final del viaje está el horizonte,
al final del viaje partiremos de nuevo,
al final del viaje comienza un camino,
otro buen camino que seguir
descalzos contando la arena.
Al final del viaje estamos tú y yo intactos.
Quedamos los que puedan sonreír
en medio de la muerte, en plena luz.

At the end of this life journey our bodies will remain bursting to go

to the death, to the hate, on the brink of madness the sea.

At the end of this life journey, there will be our sign inviting us to live.

At least that's why I am here.

We are prehistory that will have the future,

we are the remote annals of the man.

These years are heaven's past.

These years are certain agility with which the sun draws the future,

They are the truth or the end, They are God.

We are those that can smile in the middle of death, in the heat of light.

At the end of this trip in the life there will be

one cure of time and love,

a gauze that surrounds an old pain.

At the end of this trip in the life

our bodies will be tended by the sun

like white sheets after love making.

At the end of the trip iis the horizon,

at the end of the trip we will start off again,

at the end of the trip a way begins,

another good path to follow barefoot counting the sand.

At the end of the journey, we are, you and I intact

We remain those that can smile in the middle of the death, in the bright light.

To hear the song on youtube, click here.

Home for Hospice

2009-07-30T22:49:00.003-04:00

In the life swell of the past months...I am posting events out of order. In an effort to get caught up...Grandma actually came home to hospice June 31..Her 75th birthday was July 21...So we have had lots of reason to celebrate her and love her. These photos were from her welcome home party.

Dancing for my Grandmother

2009-07-30T22:47:00.002-04:00

me loving gma, originally uploaded by jjleatherman.

Life is better than one could possibly ever imagine. This moment encapsulates everything that is sacred in life for me...It was with this dance performance that I truly realized how spiritual dance celebrates so many rites of passage in our lives. I am so honored and blessed with my Grandmother's life and I think she was honored and blessed as well. Happy Birthday Ruby Lou!

Grandma's 75th Birthday Celebration

2009-07-30T22:44:00.003-04:00

75candles, originally uploaded by jjleatherman.

magic margie

2009-07-30T22:44:00.001-04:00

magicmargie, originally uploaded by jjleatherman.

Margie giving Grandma wings to fly...

"Notice" by Steve Kowit

2009-06-17T01:29:00.001-04:00

"Notice" by Steve Kowit, originally uploaded by .Flickrr.

Note to self. This is Brilliant, Thanks to Steve Kowit

Gulls on the River

2009-06-17T00:28:00.005-04:00

(c)jjleatherman
I submitted 4 photos to the 34th annual Paducah Summer Festival Photo Contest. I've received good feedback from a few of them, so we shall see. I hope the juror sees something in the four different styles that i presented. I am wondering what that says about me (the 4 different styles)...if not searching for the particular aesthetic every time, but letting the aesthetic find me.

Lots is going on in my life right now. Dealing with my grandmother's dying process has been a gruelling one. I hope to trascend the mundane stuff of my self and focus on her in this time in her life. She wants me present with her more than I am willing to give while trying to parent my two little boys, being good mother, and wife. It is tough. Watching her die, I realize that I do not want to deny the inevitable and obvious realities of and in my own life. I do not want to trudge to death, I want to fly to death.

Love Nut

2009-06-17T00:27:00.003-04:00

(c)jjleatherman

2 silos in So. IL

2009-06-17T00:23:00.001-04:00

family portrait

2009-05-16T23:40:00.004-04:00

DSC_0221, originally uploaded by jjleatherman.

(c)jjleatherman

mother and babe portrait

2009-05-16T23:40:00.001-04:00

DSC_0212, originally uploaded by jjleatherman.

from my most recent photography work.

If I were a flower, I would be a Peony...

2009-05-13T12:06:00.002-04:00

DSC_0047, originally uploaded by jjleatherman.

2009-05-13T12:05:00.003-04:00

DSC_0051, originally uploaded by jjleatherman.

Peony

2009-05-13T12:05:00.001-04:00

DSC_0053, originally uploaded by jjleatherman.

If I were a flower, I would be a peony. This is an heirloom from a bush that my great grandmother planted many many moons ago. I have vivid childhood memories of watching the ants crawl, and the sweet , heady smells of the blossoms.

I Taught Myself to Live Simply by Anna Akhmatova

2009-04-01T11:38:00.001-04:00

I Taught Myself to Live Simply by Anna Akhmatova, originally uploaded by marylondon44.

inspiration indeed!

my grandmother's hands

2009-04-01T10:51:00.003-04:00

this is my grandmother's and my first official collaborative art project. we came up with the idea and then created the image for her to give as Christmas presents for her closest family members. Underneath the photo she asked me to write the quote, "Peace: it's a wonderful feeling, it requires trust."

"The Door Is Round" by Rumi

2009-03-27T14:38:00.001-04:00

"The Door Is Round" by Rumi, originally uploaded by academy of american poets.

http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=87085921288&h=mWblw&u=KTm2q&ref=mf

kitty kitty

2009-03-26T23:50:00.002-04:00

DSC_0095, originally uploaded by jjleatherman.

as close to a cat as i care to get...i love them, but my immune system does not...

I'm nobody by Emily Dickinson

2009-03-26T22:46:00.001-04:00

I'm nobody by Emily Dickinson, originally uploaded by academy of american poets.

Great, Amazing List of Women Greats, and Hearts to God

2009-03-18T22:28:00.003-04:00

Editorial note: This node was originally created by Colorless Green Idea. by (idea) by alex at http://www.Everything2.com took over its ownership after maintaining it for three years in CGI's absence.

Can you name twenty non-fictional women, born before 1900, who are famous for their own accomplishments?
Seriously, try it before you peek.

Here's a starter list of great women, to get us thinking --
Disclaimers:
(1) Many people on this list should be in multiple categories and I've put them in just one. (Within each category, listings are roughly chronological.)
(2) The list isn't intended solely as an answer to the question presented above; it's supposed to be a metanode of noteworthy historical women; I've included some people born since 1900, if they did something especially noteworthy. The 1900 stricture is mostly to prevent the list getting uncontrollably large, and "famous for" can also be read as "unjustifiably ignored despite".
(3) And of course, the list is by no means comprehensive; in particular, it's very heavily slanted toward American and European women, since that's the shape of my ignorance.

Please add more below, or /msg me with additions. Also, if you're looking for factual stuff to node, look for women on this list who aren't yet written up.

Rulers/Politicians
(If you know that one of these ancient women is mythological, let me know)
Pharoah Hatshepsut

Queen Tiye -- Egypt
Cleopatra
Artemisia
Candace of Ethiopia
Semiramis of Babylon
Makeda, Queen of Sheba
Empress Theodora
Empress Wu Zetian of China
Blanche of Castile
Raziya Iltutmish
Sorghaghtani Beki, Mongolian
Catherine de Medici
Eleanor of Aquitaine
Isabella I of Castille
Queen Amina of Hausa
Mary, Queen of Scots
Queen Elizabeth I of England
Queen Victoria of Britain
Catherine the Great of Russia
Nur Jahan of Kashmir
Tz'u-hsi, the Empress Dowager of China
Liliuokalani of Hawaii
Jeannette Rankin
Sirimavo Bandaranaike
Golda Meir
Indira Gandhi
Shirley Chisholm
Ella Grasso
Benazir Bhutto
Corazon Aquino
Margaret Thatcher
Wilma Mankiller

Judges/Lawyers
Belva Lockwood
Sandra Day O'Connor
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Edith Spurlock Sampson

Authors/Poets/Playwrights
Sappho
Corinna
Ban Zhao
Li Qingzhao
Murasaki Shikibu
Sei Shonagon
Christine de Pisan
Anna Comnena
Margery Kempe
Aphra Behn
Lady Mary Wroth
Anne Kingsmill Finch
Juana Inés de la Cruz
Emily Dickinson
Anne Bradstreet
Phillis Wheatley
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Christina Rossetti

Elizabeth Inchbald
Jane Austen

Charlotte Bronte
Emily Bronte
George Eliot
Georges Sand
Mary Shelley
Sarah Josepha Hale
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Sarah Orne Jewett
Fanny Burney
Mourning Dove
Eudora Welty
Edith Wharton
Kate Chopin
Yosano Akiko
Edna St. Vincent Millay
Dorothy Parker
Selma Lagerlöf
Virginia Woolf
Lillian Hellman
Katherine Anne Porter
Emily Post
Fanny Farmer
Beatrix Potter
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Louisa May Alcott
Frances Hodgson Burnett
Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Emma Lazarus
H.D.
Isak Dinesen
Anna Sewell
Zora Neale Hurston
Gertrude Stein
Marina Tsvetayeva
Anna Akhmatova
Elizabeth Bishop
Marianne Moore
Gwendolyn Brooks
Daphne du Maurier
Margaret Mitchell
Pearl S. Buck
Willa Cather
Flannery O'Connor
Madeleine L'Engle

Artists/Architects
Artemisia Gentileschi
Judith Leyster
Elisabeth Vigée-LeBrun

Camille Claudel
Berthe Morisot
Mary Cassatt
Kathe Kollwitz
Grandma Moses
Georgia O'Keeffe
Frida Kahlo
Kate Greenaway

Journalists/Photographers
Ida Tarbell
Ida B. Wells

Nellie Bly
Margaret Fuller
Julia Margaret Cameron
Imogen Cunningham
Berenice Abbott
Margaret Bourke-White
Katharine Graham
M. Therese Bonney
Dorothea Lange

Feminists/Suffrage Leaders
Mary Wollstonecraft
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Lucretia Mott
Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Susan B. Anthony
Emmeline Pankhurst
Carrie Chapman Catt
Matilda Joslyn Gage
Amelia Bloomer
Alice Paul
Lucy Stone
Fanny Wright
Qiu Jin

Betty Friedan

Reformers/Educators/Enlightened Patrons
Elizabeth Fry
Lady Godiva
Isabella d'Este
Abigail Adams
Dorothea Dix
Mary Church Terrell
Mary Lyon
Emma Willard
Sarah Grimke and Angelina Grimke
Julia Ward Howe
Harriet Tubman
Sojourner Truth
Florence Nightingale
Mary McLeod Bethune
Sarah Josepha Hale
Jane Addams
Margaret Sanger
Marie Stopes
Victoria Woodhull
Mary Harris Jones aka Mother Jones
Carry Nation
Helen Hunt Jackson
Mary Shadd Cary
Maria Montessori
Helen Keller
Eleanor Roosevelt
Frances Perkins
Rachel Carson
Rosa Parks
Crystal Eastman
Marian Wright Edelman
Fannie Lou Hamer

Scientists/ Mathematicians/ Inventors/ Health Care Workers
Hypatia of Alexandria
Shi Dun and Si Ling Chi: mythological?
Trotula of Salerno
Heloise (see also Abelard and Heloise)
Hildegard von Bingen
Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia
Laura Bassi (1711-1778)
Sophie Germain (1776-1831)
Ada Lovelace, aka Ada Byron, Lady Lovelace
Clara Barton
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson
Elizabeth Blackwell
Maria Mitchell
Sofia Vasilyevna Kovalevskaya
Annie Jump Cannon
Marie Curie
Émilie du Châtelet
Maria Agnesi
Evelyn Boyd Granville
Grace Murray Hopper

Margaret Mead
Maria Goeppert Mayer
Florence Sabin
Virginia Apgar
Lise Meitner
Mary Leakey
Jane Goodall
Dian Fossey
Hedy Lamarr (seriously!)
Barbara McClintock
Rosalind Franklin
Emmy Noether
Chien-Shiung Wu

Religious Leaders/ Mystics

St. Teresa of Avila
Saint Catherine of Siena-- for more female saints, see list of saints
Julian of Norwich
Mother Shipton
Mother Seton aka Elizabeth Ann Seton
Mary Baker Eddy
Anne Hutchinson
Madame Blavatsky
Dion Fortune
Mother Teresa

Philosophers
Princess Elizabeth of Bohemia
Queen Christina of Sweden
G.E.M. Anscombe

Phillippa Foot
Luce Irigaray
Simone de Beauvoir
Emma Goldman
Hannah Arendt
Simone Weil
Ayn Rand

Warriors / Pirates
Hua Mulan -- schist informs me that Mulan is mythological
The Trung Sisters -- Vietnam
Laskarina Boubouline
Grace O'Malley
Joan of Arc
Lady Agnes Randolph
Mbande Zinga or Nzhinga-- Angola
Yaa Asantewaa -- Ghana/Ashanti
Boadicea

Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans, duchesse de Montpensier
Nehanda --Zimbabwe
Nandi -- Zulu
Flora Sandes
Lily Litvak
real, non-mythical Amazons?:Myrene, Lysippe, Penthesilea -- see www.gendergap.com's section on women military leaders, according to them there are many more

Explorers/Adventurers/Pilots/Astronauts
Valentina Tereshkova
Svetlana Savitskaya
Ann Bancroft
Sacagawea, also spelled Sacajawea
Jaqueline Cochran
Bessie Coleman
Amelia Earhart
Eileen Collins
Sally Ride
Gina Yeager
Tori Murden

Athletes/ Dancers
Mildred "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias
Anna Pavlova
Martha Graham
Isadora Duncan
Josephine Baker
Wilma Rudolph
Libby Riddles
Dawn Riley
Annie Oakley

Musicians/ Composers/ Actors/ Directors
Beverly Sills
Kate Smith
Marian Anderson
Bessie Smith
Etta James
Sarah Bernhardt
Helen Hayes
Billie Holiday
Ella Fitzgerald
Sarah Vaughn
Dinah Washington
Julie Dash

Hearts to God

by Jessica Leatherman

Submitted to This I Believe essay contest~2/3/09--first essay I've written in a long time. in typical fashion, although I've been working on this essay for a month (journaling and mulling it over) I didn't read the guidelines, and doubt that I will be selected because it's really not personal enough for what they want. But, it shows that process is as important as product because finally I understand why I get so mad when parents don't encourage their daughters to have a higher education whether based on religious or societal factors...

This I Believe: That the Shaker sister, Mother Ann Lee got it right when she said, "Put your hands to work and your hearts to God"; that women should be able to choose, to vote, to pursue an education, career or decide to be a wife and homemaker if that is her true ambition, that our foremothers and forefathers fought hard for women's rights and that when a young woman's religion, community or society denies or discourages her to choose a path such as minister, scientist, or politician it is a travesty. With so many choices, I believe in the right to choose according to and within my own spiritual beliefs whatever they may be: Baptist, Buddhist, Amish, Shaker, or Muslim without fear of condemnation or judgment. I believe that when families or religious institutions discourage young women from pursuing their callings and dreams based on gender, we are taking steps backwards as a society.

Some religions and families prohibit females or cultivate societal norms that discourage females from pursuing what many US citizens hold as 'certain unalienable rights': life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. At the time that Thomas Jefferson said these words (July 4, 1776), women were still considered as secondary citizens in the tiers of our society. During the Shaker Mother Ann Lee's lifetime (1736-1784), there were and still are many religions that do not allow women to minister in their church according to their religious laws and beliefs. Since the time of Jefferson, our society has given women the right to vote, to hold political office, and our societies have allowed women to wear pants or whatever attire (or not) we wish. Since the time of Sister Lee, most of the same religions still do not allow women to minister or hold high rank in their echelons, and require dress codes such as skirts, veils, and hair coverings. While US society is opening up to allow women their unalienable rights, religions are not. Fortunate for me and other women who value higher education, and political activism, separation of church and state is working.

It is interesting to note that while society has changed much, many religions have not. There is the possibility that having just elected our first black male president, we could elect our first female president (of whatever race) in the not-too-distant future, and that during this time there would be citizens under her guidance who do not believe that women should hold positions of authority over men. A few of the religions in the USA whose sacred laws forbid this are fundamentalist Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and Christian sects. Timothy 1 (2:12) states, "Do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man: rather she is to remain quiet."
We are "One nation under God", but thank God, even in the Bible belt, our government does not profess to know or to divine God's rule and impose it on us. Thank God, that I can wear pants, teach, write this essay, and that I have a voice, a female voice, and that it will be heard, even if some believe differently.

I just got back from Hippy Town!

2009-03-07T11:00:00.007-05:00

An old friend and I took a little trip to Makanda, IL yesterday in Southern Illinois and we had a lovely time. I took my nikon along and it felt so good to photograph and document this really great place, and the wine trail roads are some of the best scenic car/bike trails that you will ever find. The lovely Mary Lynn Schroader is the woman pictured here in here inblue studio. You can find her on www.etsy.com search inblue. The garden pics were taken in Rainmaker Art Studio~Dave Dardis' place. His website is www.davedardis.com. He has amazing sculptures! I will post more photos of their work and of this lovely place they call "Makanda"...But for now, I am off to sort the recycling :) Long Live Hippies! Viva el ARTE!

Portraits of Grandma

2008-12-03T02:03:00.005-05:00

I've decided that I am going to accept that my Grandmother is slowly dying. In fact, we all are...I'm embarking on a new project of photo essays called 'Elders in the Light'. For now, my grandmother is the first subject of the portraiture work. I plan to document her store house of our family's oral history, and the many stories to make them part of my 'store' of knowledge, and to love her fully (along with all of the loved ones in my life) each and every day that we breathe, and even after that...with my heart relaxed and full of love...

Revisiting Synchronicity : The Last Docking of The Delta Queen in The Port of Paducah, Kentucky

2008-10-27T17:44:00.009-04:00

(c) jj leatherman
(c) jj leatherman

This morning I woke up with The Delta Queen (song by Nathan Lynn and Bawn in the Mash) playing in my head...then all this morning, I think I am hearing the Calliope Whistle loudly announcing??? Something...So, I peruse the Ol' BLOG and find that we are nearing that sad anniversary. I think it's worth a re-post and a re-visit. There is something about synchronicity and nostalgia that never grows old...

SAVE THE QUEEN~October 27, 2008

On Synchronicity: The Delta Queen and Nathan Lynn

We went early and made a day of it starting with a good morning salute to the Queen, and then headed to the River Maritime Museum, then onto the Railroad Museum, next for lunch: Kirchoff's good soup and sandwiches and then onto Wildhair Studios to pick up my first music purchase of Bawn in the Mash's Atomic City, their first album. Finally, we got back in the car and re- parked right down by the river to watch the Queen leave the Paducah Port for what could be the very last time.

Still in the sunny part of our day before the Queen's departure while relaxing in the warmth of the car by the river, I put the Atomic City album on and listened and stared at the old gal that is the Delta Queen paddle boat, and tried not to cry too hard in front of the children, but I was really sad, and then a head pops in our window~who but the singer of our farewell serenade: Nathan Lynn: http://www.nathanblakelynn.com/index.php.

He popped his head in and said, 'hey I sing that song, that's me singin'" The boys were delighted, and I went and got his autograph, and he gave me a cd! I felt like the most privileged of fans.

www.save-the-delta-queen.org

After I hopped back in the car, my eldest son didn't believe that the person on the cd that we were listening to was who he said he was there at the river front, right in front of us, so I said~'hey, he's got that guitar on his back maybe he's about to prove it." So, then the boys and I shamelessly followed Lynn and Dixie up to where the river gage runs and Nathan commenced to singing his beautiful tune about none other than The Delta Queen. It was such an honor to be there at the confluence of great art and history.

Japanese girl

2008-10-07T01:18:00.001-04:00

Japanese girl, originally uploaded by ookami_dou.

Japanese girl
Tinted albumen print from a japanese photo album of the 19th century.

Uploaded by ookami_dou on 28 Jan 07, 1.11PM EDT.

Flickr

2008-10-07T01:16:00.001-04:00

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Tree of Life Series by JJ Leatherman

2008-02-11T11:07:00.002-05:00

Mother Roots

Belly Casts

2008-01-09T16:41:00.001-05:00

Finally, 4 and 6 years later, the boys and I put gesso on on our belly casts. I say ours, because they were the little beings that caused my figure to blossom so bountifully. You'll notice that one is larger than the other, as I was much more supple to stretch ;)..i think both forms are absolutely beautiful in their own way, just as my children are in their own way…

My eldest wants to paint our first house on his…while my younger insists that he is Venus. I want to have the moon and sun be central in each one of their designs as I feel that I am the earth and they are my sun, and moon. My husband is that vast space that holds us, elemental like me, earthy, the tree rooted in me….

One is my egg, the other, my igloo…

I'll post the next phase in the process, sanding, hopefully very soon.

Vale Que Tengas

2007-11-11T22:07:00.001-05:00

Lyrics to Vale Que Tengas by Ely Guerra:

Me enteré de como se sumerge
en el ácido el corazón,
puedo claramente ver las gotas de dolor,
una mezcla de ignorancia y falta de pasión,
una indiferencia que engrandece el desamor,
un silencio enorme que ensordece.

Vale que tengas tiempo para soñar,
vale que tengas tiempo para sentirte feliz,
vale que tengas tiempo para sentirte infeliz,
porque la vida es así, la vida es así...

Vale que tengas tiempo para volar
vale que tengas tiempo par sentir el amor
vale que tengas tiempo para sentir el dolor
porque el dolor es mejor cuando se entiende.

Me enteré de como es que se encienden
los temores, la desilusión
puedo claramente ver la poca inspiración
el vacío al que se enfrenta nuestro corazón
una indeferencia que engrandece al desamor
un silencio enorme que ensordece.

Vale que tengas tiempo para soñar,
vale que tengas tiempo para sentirte feliz,
vale que tengas tiempo para sentirte infeliz,
porque la vida es así, la vida es así...
Vale que tengas tiempo para volar,
vale que tengas tiempo para sentir el amor,
vale que tengas tiempo para sentir el dolor,
porque el dolor es mejor cuando se entiende...

porque el dolor es mejor cuando se entiende.

NaNoWriMo~the thrill of finally writing a novel

2007-11-05T21:04:00.001-05:00

Writing a Novel in a month in honor of NaNoWriMo: National Writing Month

I'm not going to put this off any longer! I'm going to do this. I am trying to write a novel in a month….

Pedaling through the streets of Palermo or Paducah I have felt joy in realities far less than perfect. I want to write a novel about the concept, 'I create my own reality' and I want to create simultaneously this parallel universe, that of the novel. Essentially it will be a new reality based on the philiosophy of it's creation: a creation about reality creation. Must I truly learn how to create my own reality before creating another one within the confines of a book?

How wonderful to have a home birth through my character! How wonderful to have a mother and a father through a character. A happy world spun and created from despair and love is the essence of our society. I do not want to go to dark places~yet, I'll save those monsters for Stephen king. I love flow, I love writing practice in a notebook, but I also love sitting here at my key board clunking away. I realize that handwriting slows you down, and this is the reason that it is good. It makes you think a bit more. I think I will do both for this novel. I just want to get started.

I will write in the voice of ???? a character from ??? alice walker went all over the world in Temple of my Familiar. She was in touch with her essence, she channeled …

दिस्कोवering जाने रॉबर्ट्स ऎंड सेठ...

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http://newworldview.com/library/Helfrich_P_Integral_Conscious_Creation_2.html

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