Owlie Owlie Ocean Sea

I love the practice of reviewing what’s been up in my week – and I love inviting you in for a peek.  For some reason whenever I think of each one of us, busy in our own worlds, creating our own magic and interacting with the day-to-day realities, I feel both delighted and a sense of commaraderie.  We’re all in our metaphorical studios creating our lives.  Do consider joining Amy Putkonen’s What-Are-You-Working-On  linky party and share what you’ve been up to as well.

internal landscape:  I’ve had a week where I’ve been mixed up about what day it is several times, and several nights where I’ve awoken many many times more than usual.  The effect is I feel a bit of loosening of the grip of “normal” time.  I’m always curious when that happens.  It often feels like I’m getting ready for some kind of expansion and I have to take myself out of my current defined space in order to do it.  So I’m feeling a bit excited about what may be unfolding.   My energetic address:  the intersection of curiosity and not-yet-knowing.

breathing the fresh air:   This was a seriously strange weather week – we had a day in the 80s and one where it never got out of the low 40s.  My garden still seems several weeks behind schedule, but I feel weeks behind schedule with everything as well so I’m about ready to declare a moratorium on calendar time anyway.  Today I had a long walk and I spent the time looking at tree roots.  I always delight when I find some gnarly ancient-looking roots – it feels like a kind of secret peek at what is normally hidden under ground.  I always feel like saying thank you to the tree for letting me see this intimate glimpse.  Today it felt like a needed message as well.  Because I share my personal thoughts and journey on this blog, sometimes the question comes up of who cares, and is this actually useful or entirely self-indulgent.  But then I think about how important it is to me when others share their life authentically, and I know showing each other our “roots” really does matter.

epicurean adventure:   Baked brie and strawberries is definitely making it an appearance sometime during this holiday weekend.  Yum.

on the work table:  I’m still all about the glue books – working on visioning projects and to prompts.  I’m also working on a talisman for a client which is always a particular task of joy for me.  I’ve had my jewelry tools out and am stringing some beaded things for myself as well.

good things:

• My husband stopped by our local Science and Surplus store to pick up a couple things he needs for an experiment he’s working on, and picked up one of their “grab bags” of assorted treasures.  When he unpacked it, there were a couple things in there for me to claim to use in creating some artist books.  Fun!
• I was showered with kind notes, good thoughts, and great mail this week.  And I appreciate it all!

turning the pages:  My husband and I are both huge fans of cartoonist Lynda Barry and he just turned over his copy of her book Syllabus: Notes from an Accidental Professor.  This is going to be one of those books I spend a year on devouring – I’m savoring it bit by bit.  It looks like one of those black and white composition books, filled like a crazy journal, and it feels like such a treasure.

on the playlist:  I woke up from a dream this week with the song Imagine playing in my mind.  But it was being sung by a woman and so I’ve been listening to various versions all week.  This is the one I keep returning to by Eva Cassidy.

what I’m loving to support:  I really make an effort to wear fair-trade and/or artisan-created clothing because those things are important to me, although it’s not always easy because I’m a woman of substance.  But I definitely support and wear Punjammies – made in India by women who have escaped human trafficking.

favorite word of the week:  The organization that supports the above work is Sudara, and according to their website their name is derived from the Sanskrit word Sundara  which means beautiful.

fabulousities, curiosities, and brain igniters:

• Pot hole repairs with style by artist Jim Bachor.  Who says our roads can’t be fun?

• I seriously LOVE this crayon project and it may well go on my to-do list.  I have strings of round capiz shells hanging from a curtain rod on a window on the stairs up to my studio.  I love touching them as I pass letting them clink a bit.  I’m thinking I would be fun to add some strings of these waxy colored beauties as well.

• I often have a recurring dream where I’m in a car and suddenly the road turns into a lake.  I usually feel a sense of excitement, occasionally it’s a panicky sense of dread.  So I find this French real-life example both reassuring and a bit of a nightmare.

• Last week I mentioned I loved The Owl and the Pussycat.  This week I’m loving the Owl and the Dog.

• My cousin had the opportunity to visit a gathering of burrowing owls and took photographs and blogged about it.  I wish I’d been there!

And there you have it – what’s been up in my world this week.  What about you?  Spotted any owls?  Felt like burrowing? Been stranded when a road flooded?  Bandied about the word Sundara?  If you’re in the U.S. do you have plans for this long weekend?  Do tell – you know I love to hear.