Marigolds on the Ground Chrysanthemums in the Sky

I’m finding it hard to believe it’s Friday already, but then again that’s the kind of week it’s been.  I seem to have come untethered from time.  My first indication was when setting the clocks for time change over the weekend I set them all the wrong way – ahead instead of back.  And then a couple days later, it suddenly occurred to me it was the 3^rd, a day AFTER my friend’s birthday.  I quickly sent a belated e-card with apologies and it wasn’t until the following day that I realized the birthday was actually in October, which I kept thinking it was, and not November.  (Bonus confusion points for me because I had in fact actually remembered my friend’s birthday in October on the correct day and sent greetings.  Sigh.)  Yep, it seems I’m dancing in my own world of timelessness.  And yet here we are at Friday, and so I’m ready to play in the weekly Scattered Life Collective invitation to peek into my week.  Even though founder Cynthia is taking the month off blogging, I’m choosing to continue on with these little weekly capturings in the interim.

out the window:  It’s bright and chilly out and looks very much like a November day in Chicago.  Many of the trees are bare now, but a few are still holding on to golden leaves and there is a deliciously welcome spot of color from my neighbor’s Japanese Maple that is blazing flames of scarlet.  I’ve still got my porch railing flower boxes out and they’re still hanging on but I think it won’t be much longer.  I’ll be sad to call that blooming part of the year over.

on the menu:  Couscous with Apples and Cranberries.  A pretty simple autumn salad.

good things:

• A shout out of gratitude.  To you.  I know my peek into my week posts are link-rich and frankly in a society that is being increasingly impatient and trained to allot nanoseconds of their attention to things rather than lovely large chunks of time, my style of writing (and being) isn’t encouraged.  And while I get that, truth is I’m not going to change.  In fact I’m becoming increasingly clear and focused on being me exactly the way I am.  And so, having said that, I do also want to say that I appreciate everyone who does come here and read my words, and especially those who take time to comment and let me know they’ve actually read them.  It delights me and I think it’s only fair to tell you so and that I’m grateful for your time and attention, and your companionship.

• Soaking up all the good energy of the full moon.  Yesterday I heard this called the Chrysanthemum Moon by a feng shui expert and I’m loving that name.

• My husband and I are having the most delightful time watching episodes of the 1930’s serial Flash Gordon.  They are an incredible hoot and we’re pacing ourselves doing one at a time just like they were originally presented in movie theaters as the short weekly prelude to the full-length movie feature.  Each episode ends as a cliff hanger.  They are of course ridiculous and campy, but I love them.  And I can only dream of having access to the original prop shop and costume department – I SO want my own rocketships and costumes.

• A friend happened to mention to me that she was making a Chocolate Cloud Cake.  I’d never heard of such a thing, but I practically passed out with the thrill that such a thing existed.  How did I not know this?!  Although I haven’t actually made it yet, knowing that I can and will makes my world a better place to be in.  Fact.

• Speaking of swoon-worthy I have a new tarot deck that’s delighting me – Nicoletta Ceccoli’s.  Here’s a peek at some of the cards.

• A small precious package arrived from Belgium from MIEL books. In it was my copy of their limited edition of Nancy Campbell’s How To Say I Love You in Greenlandic – digitally printed on postcards and wrapped in an image adapted from one of Campbell’s monoprints.  I’m so thrilled to have one of the final copies of this limited edition artist book.  What a treasure.

reading:  I’ve got two fun finds to report this week. Both books are based on unusual premises.

• I haven’t finished it yet, but I’m quite enjoying The Navigator’s Dream: Vol 1: Riverlog by Julia A. Turk.  Turk created a tarot deck Navigators Tarot of the Mystic SEA, and then created 3 volumes, basically the tale of man who ends up on a mystical journey and keeps finding tarot cards on the way and having adventures that uncover the meaning of the cards.  The first volume which is what I’m reading is covering the pip cards.  The whole flavor of the book reminds me a bit of Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist.

• The other book is Roberto Trotta’s The Edge of the Sky: All You Need to Know About the All-There-Is.  This is a charming little book which is an explanation of the cosmos and astrophysics understanding of how it came to be and how it is today.  But the fabulous and amazing part that delights me is that he set himself the constraint of describing every thing using only the 1000 most-used words in the English language.  Think about that – how do you describe really really complex concepts, particularly scientific ones, with a simple and highly restrictive vocabulary?  Even the names of the planets aren’t on that 1000-word list and so there is some very clever adaptations like Mercury becoming “he-who-talks-for-the-gods” and anti-matter particles are “sister drops.”  It’s truly a beautiful and skillful work of art.

watching:  This video has millions of views so perhaps I’m the last person on the planet to discover it, but what can I say?  It delights me.

listening:  Mary Pinkoski is a Canadian spoken word artist and I’m totally in love with her.  This poem rocks my world.  See if it does yours as well.

favorite word phrase of the week:   I have Julie Kirk to thank for turning me on to this Shakespearean treasure: “This deed unshapes me quite.”  I’m seriously swooning over this one.

out and about:

• How clever is this?  An antique family tree made from tintypes.  My mind reels with possibilities here.

• I’m working with the archetype of the Sphinx and to find a photo of Louis Armstrong playing his trumpet here was such a delight and like one of those little cosmic winks.

• Currency portraits by Mark Wagner.

• Here’s something else that just blows my mind with its fabulousity.  The structure of dried human tears.    (And a tip of the hat to Linda Watson who mentioned Dr. Emoto’s work photographing water on her blog and Andi Graves who commented with the tear research.  I love the blogging community!  And just a hedz up, both their blogs are worth checking out if you aren’t aleady.

• I’m not altogether sure what I think of Archetypes.com but I’ve been poking around.  Their mission statement: “A website that curates your world through a personal filter called archetypes.”  According to their system I’m Creative and Spiritual.

And there you have it.  What’s been capturing my fancy this week.  What about you?  What archetypes do you identify with?  If your family was a tree, what kind would it be?  Like naming the moons?  What kind of week have you had?  What unshapes you? Do tell – you know I love to hear.