Friday has rolled around again, extra fast I think thanks to the earlier long holiday weekend. Keeping with tradition, I’m opening my brain and heart and inviting you in for peek at my week. I’m linking up once again with Amy Putkonen’s What Are You Working On. Come join the fun.
internal landscape: I’ve felt somehow a bit out-of-sync all week – that peculiar state where nothing is wrong but everything seems the tinest bit off register. I’ve always loved doing these weekly reviews, but this week I decided they’re even more important to me than I had considered. Last night a friend remarked how I often report nothing has happened during my week when asked during conversation, and yet clearly stuff has happened given that I blog about it each week. That observation gave me pause. I realized 1) I was tired and end of the evening conversations aren’t when my brain is functioning at its optimum; 2) I’m better at writing than talking; and 3) these reviews help me remember little touchstones – my week is composed of moment after moment and sharing some of what is delighting and inspiring me helps me keep linear track in my mind which tends not to be linear at all. This feels like a perfect practice at integration for me, and I think that’s what this week’s message has been all about. That feeling out-of-sync and tired is a pretty clear clue I needed some time for energetic integration.
Today my energetic address is: on the on-ramp of excited anticipation headed towards another summer steeping in and stirring my creative cauldron.
breathing the fresh air: Just as the last of the lilacs have faded away my peonies are budded into big fat balls. I’m thinking they’ll likely pop next week and I can’t wait. I’m like a little kid. Seriously the arrive of those abundantly lush, frilly, fragrant extravagences is a big deal in my world. So I keep heading out to the bush and whispering encouraging words.
good things:
- While I’m still in the thick of tweaking my routines and practices for maximum best-fit for the current me, some things finally feel like they’re coming together a little more smoothly with the tweaks – like my morning practices.
- My cookie fortune said “The color green will be lucky for you next week.” And that makes me smile knowing that my brother, Mr. Green Thumb, is coming by next week to help me with some garden chores and spread some of his magic. Alas it turns out my dear rose tree did not survive our harsh winter, so he’ll be helping me dig it out. Since it is theoretically possible to grow them in big patio pots that’s what we’ll be trying this year and then I can move the pot inside come winter. We’ll see how that goes.
epicurean adventure: Peas and Pesto Quinoa Patties are on the menu for tonight. They’re delicious! But then again anything with pesto is a winner in my book.
on the work table:
My work table is pretty small, because well, my studio is pretty small. I’m definitely not complaining, because that’s how I like it and my preference is to work small. But it requires frequently tidying up of the table to make room to work on anything – pushing things off to the side only works for so long.
Next week begins the annual Daisy Yellow’s Index-Card-A-Day (ICAD) challenge and Kristin’s Summer of Color challenge. So I’ve cleared some space and pulled out a pile of blank index cards and am starting to think about color. Fun! I also uncovered in the piles a favorite coloring book of American Frakturs Folk Art by Emily Fotis. I do love a good coloring session.
This week I started playing in an online course facilitated by Jessica Brogan creating a mixed media altered-book journal dedicated to our Spirit Animals. For many participants a large part of this course is discovering who their guides are. I’m very in touch with mine, and in fact have a dedicated journal for each one of them which I’ve been keeping for years. But at the beginning of the year one of the projects that popped unexpectedly to mind was the idea of creating a journal that held all my Animal Guides in one place – as though they were meeting at The Gathering of Me. And as is the way with spirit, this course happened to pop up on my radar a few days before it was scheduled to begin. Serendipity! And just in time too to realize that some new animal totems are stepping forward to help with some new projects I’m working on, so I’ll be including them in this bound “circle” as well. This week, besides thinking about our Animal Guides we chose our books and started the prep of gessoing pages.
It’s been another week of working with my glue sticks as well, adding to those visioning journals.
on the playlist: Lucinda Drayton – I Will Rise
on the screen: We’ve been netflixing the BBC series House of Cards which was filmed in the 90s and is the British equivalent in parliament of the political craziness of the more recent U.S. version. I gave up on the U.S. version at the beginning of the second season because I found the underhandedness, meanness, and corruption simply too much to watch in the name of entertainment. The British one is a bit more tongue-in-cheek and the bonus is it’s only about nine episodes.
favorite word of the week: Eunoia is the shortest English word containing all five main vowels. It comes from the Greek and means “well mind” or “beautiful thinking.”
what I’m loving to support: Unbound is a very interesting fund-raising platform. Authors pitch their yet-to-be-written books and if there’s enough interest and money raised they write the book. I’m quite curious about various alternative publishing ideas as I wonder what direction I’ll take when my books are written. But in any case, I’m supporting a book I’d love to see written The Serendipity Foundation by Sam Smit. It’s a novel about terrorism with a social conscience. Go listen to his blurb and see if you agree with me and think it sounds like a fun good one.
fabulousities, curiosities, and brain igniters:
- We’re still in the depths of this round of Mercury retrograde. This Oxford Astrologer article offers a question for each zodiac sign to consider during this time. Mine is: “How can I retreat and still be in the world?” Ah, yes, I’m certainly dancing with that one.
- Now that I’ve discovered the existence of these Van Gogh clouds I’ve got a full-blown case of eyes-to-the-skies. I’d so love to see these!
- Tardigrades are seriously the craziest science-fiction-looking can’t-get-more-bizarre-or-creepy-looking creatures I’ve ever seen and they have some pretty amazing superpowers as well. They could certainly inhabit one of those B-grade monster movies of the 50s. Let’s just hope they don’t inhabit my nightmares.
- But moving on to the more thrilling aspects of water, artist Lisa Park uses her brain waves to vibrate pools of water to reflect her emotions. I love, love, love this! And notice she calls this performance Eunoia. I can’t imagine of a more delightful demonstration of beautiful thinking.
- We’ve been to the skies and we’ve been to the seas, now how about something combining the two. Amy Palko writes about looking for a feather and finding something else. On receiving exactly what we need.
And there you have it, a bit of a meander around my week. What about you? What’s been inspiring, motivating, challenging you? Have a sky or water story to share? Found any feathers? What wavelength has your brain been on? Do tell – you know I love to hear.
I have been in that space before. Where everything is off for a bit. ANd you know what – for me, it ends up culminating in a large cry, and then a revelation AFTER the cry, about what was building up in me. That must be an old vestige of childhood – bottling and letting things build up. I try to work on it, but this is an old habit.
I’ve found eating challenging this week. And routine. And trying to keep a lid on my internal frustration with other people’s actions and antics. But I have felt love easily, and given love easily. And I am celebrating internally and externally, my course. The people in it – I am grateful. I am excited. I am in love with them already!
It’s so interesting isn’t it Jessica, how full our weeks can be. And I don’t mean with busy stuff, although that of course is true as well. But I mean full of internal expression and reflection. We are all such amazing creatures!
I appreciate you stopping by and saying hello, and know I’m celebrating you and your delightful course as well.
Always lots to say here! Those clouds are fantastic. I will look for them too. I found something today I thought you might like, although you may already know about it. It is called Pocket Letter Pals. Fun stuff. Snail mail.
Those creatures looked fake! Like a bad science fiction movie – yeah! Weird that they are real and look like that. Could someone be messing with us?
Loved that sound piece about the mind – and the tie-in with your favorite word, Eunoia. Only one consonant. I will have to remember that the next time I play Scrabble.
LOL – a little skeptical there Amy about those crazy-looking creatures? But alas, they are indeed real and of great interest to scientists who are fascinated by what extreme conditions they can survive through. Both NASA and the European Space Agency have sent them into space and are continuing to develop theories that indicate life on other planets is much more common and likely than previously thought.
I hadn’t heard about that snail mail exchange – sounds like an curious combination of scrapbooking and penpal connection. I clearly have those clouds on my mind, because I dreamt someone mailed me a small box and when I opened it a cloud drifted out – my own personal Picasso cloud. How fun is that?
Oh, how I LOVE reading your Friday posts! When you shared what your friend said about when you are asked what’s happened and you answer ‘nothing’, I actually laughed out loud because I tend to do the same thing. I am better at communicating details through email. (I think it’s because if someone interrupts me while I am talking, I stop and go on with their topic)
What a BEAUTIFUL, SONG!!!! Thank you for sharing that here! Goodness, it is so beautiful!
Yes, the scent of spring flowers is the BEST EVER! My neighbor brought me to her roses (her lilacs also are fading) which have this pristine feminine scent. Simply lovely!
Have a fun time with the Green Thumb visit this week!
Thanks for the kind words Elda – I enjoy doing those posts. How lovely you were gifted with one of your neighbor’s roses – very nice indeed.
I feel slightly off too. Yesterday, at my birthday gathering and all day really, I could not just enjoy it and have fun. I was focused on evaluating whether it was worth it for my friends to celebrate with me, feeling negative and doubtful. I realize I am not seeing clearly. Off to read that astrologer report…
Belated birthday wishes Naomi. I’m sorry you had trouble enjoying your celebration. Birthdays can be one of those natural cycle times that invite us into self-evaluation and reflection and sometimes this inner work isn’t in sync with outward celebrations. But I hope you easily and quickly shift into a place of great self-love and compassion.