One Wonderful Morning

  

  

Here's to you, dear friends!!!  

Thank you for One Very Remarkable Morning!  For the obvious time/effort/energy that I know it took to create our time together today. 

AS WELL AS . . .

the stunning, always welcoming, creative venue/Susan has clearly taken "garage" to a plane most of us will never experience except when w/her.

my Skype-fest with a favorite far-off friend.

engineering the opportunity to hear from those who couldn't be in CA but were clearly a part of today's celebration.

your astonishing collection of delectable edibles/let's not forget those Bellinis and Blood Orange concoctions.

that beautiful accordion book documenting your days/and nights?/together creating The Perfect Friendship Quilt that's so me AND the me I'm going to be!

Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you all.  So Very Much.

You've got a friend in me for sure.  Thank you soooooooooo much. 

Nothing to do?

What fun to be alerted by Google Calendar that I had No Events Scheduled Today.  Nothing.  How great is that? 

Empty calendars, it seems, create space for terrific things to happen.  Like an early morning walk in the hills with Susan and our three dogs.  A Super Civilized Walk with a Starbucks stop half way through.  The best. 

And then a spontaneous visit from my Favorite City Family to collect eggs, apples and garden vegetables.  And, of course, flowers. 

  

  

   

Yesterday?  A similarly superb sequence of surprises.  Nothing Scheduled.  But a day full of fun, friends and family.  I was/and still am/loving this sort of spontaneous entertaining.  Which feels nothing like Real Entertaining. 

We began in the garden, food evolved, the party grew and moved inside.  Life unfolded. 

Let's toast that!  And do much more of this refreshing/revitalizing kind of entertaining with a small "e."

Today

Wonderfully inspiring/idea- and friend-filled workshop.  I want to look like/feel like/BE Yvonne, our 82.5 year-old new FP friend.  OMGOSH! OK, truth be told, I've given up on being anyone else but me.  Still, she is such an inspiration.  So smart.  So vivacious.  So articulate.  Thank you for the model of what can be.  

Don't those of you who came to our first grandparent's workshop today feel the same way?  WOW again. I'm taking pictures next time.  

Evening out in the city.  When does life slow down?  Never, ever I hope.  

Yvonne, you are our hope and inspiration.  

And I absolutely LOVED our time together.  Tremendously talented, thoughtful, creative, fun women sharing what matters most.   

Thanks to all who helped create this day.  ox

Fun format for sharing photos

Spontaneity often works better than putting prescribed plans in place.  At least that's been my experience. 

I could have constructed a slideshow.  Or a book.  But only if I was able to stay up all night.  And the night after that.  And was capable of finishing before everyone left. That's when spontaneity makes more sense to me.

It was the end of a wonderful week with friends of all ages.  I wanted all to go home with a fistful of memories. 

Having printed the pictures earlier in the day, I slipped them into our evening meal. 

Did I realize that I'd become so tearful watching people pick out their favorites?  No way. 

 

Did I think that it was a wonderful way to end our vacation? 

Absolutely.

Recycle. Reuse. Revitalize.

What to do with the jewelry you never ever wear?  Pieces you’ve been given that have a few elements you'd like to isolate and extract?  Something you once loved but is now a tad tired?

Revitalize your collection by pulling everything out of their hiding places.  Evaluate what stays and what goes.  Isolate all that could be resurrected or reworked. Then begin playing with what’s left.

Gather together a group to share/rework/recycle.  Or simply enjoy the experience by yourself.  A little elastic, some beads.  Reformat tired jewelry into something you’re more apt to wear and enjoy. 

My pieces are simple/colorful/easy to make.  Effortless to disassemble and rework.  The other critical component: I'm a fan of instant results.  Fast and fun.

Where to start?  "Borrow” color stories from whatever's in your immediate environment:  Multicolored carpets/fabrics, scarves, nature, art.  Something you already love. 

I'll often try to keep the relative color proportions consistent, i.e., more peach than blue or green.  A hint of yellow.

Create a bracelet to match existing earrings or to complement a favorite necklace.  Super simple.  And very satisfying.

Left:  Seaweed-style necklace I purchased years ago but was never worn.  I recently found beads that resembled it. Then tea-dyed the macramé belt from its original far-too-bright white to a much more mellow almost-yellow.  Loved the result.

Other things to consider?  How to hide the knot:  Plan ahead.  Tie the elastic next to a bead with a hole large enough to accommodate the knot. 

Remember, nothing’s cast in stone.  If you don’t like it, cut the elastic and begin again. 

Right:  Earrings and belts are, for me, better store bought.  Bracelets, a total cinch to tackle myself.

It’s not just “a good thing.”

It can be a pretty great thing to experience together with friends.  Or by yourself.  A moment of quiet creativity.

Update on Monday, July 19, 2010 at 9:03PM by Lois

Now having gone on Facebook/why am I doing this?/I find another friend with cancer.  Damn.  Why can’t we figure out how to deal with this often-deadly/definitely debilitating disease?  I’m not only sad and disheartened but thinking what I just wrote is totally inane/off the mark/superfluous.  Who really cares about making jewelry when a friend is facing cancer?  If I totally immersed myself in all the sadness of the world I know, I’d have trouble resurfacing.  And enjoying the simple pleasures.  I hope that what I’m writing about focuses on the simple and very possible pleasures that take little money and time.  Pleasures that bring people together to enjoy each other.  Just as we’ve all done this past week. 

To everyone who was here with me, thank you.  What a wonderful time together.  I love all of you.

Update on Tuesday, July 20, 2010 at 9:41AM by Lois

Thank you, dear friend, Barb.

Lo,
Please don't beat yourself up re:jewelry fixin' vs friends in trouble.  I totally and completely understand your pain at finding another person you care about struggling.......totally appropriate; however, we ALL love to 'play' with beautiful items; jewelry, flowers, odd finds here and there, FRIENDS.  And these are the very activities that help struggling people to keep up the good fight.  A day with a buddy making new baubles would be a day of sunshine and escape from worry/pain.  So, you are actually being THERAPEUTIC, and not irrelevant. 

Update on Tuesday, July 20, 2010 at 12:05PM by Lois

Thanks to another dear friend!

Loved the blog today...

It's so true that you can't control a lot of the bad stuff in life, but you can make each day prettier, more fun, more meaningful.

As that card I gave you said,

"Life is what you make it, always has been, always will be."

Too, too wonderful

A winning combination confirmed

We all knew this, right?  We need periodic reminders to clear our calendars so that we have time to be with those we so thoroughly enjoy.  It's a respite that always refreshes.

From Linda:

This from a “Cal” friend … but some of those folks at Stanford are smart too!

 A thought to share
        ...  from a class at Stanford. The last lecture was on the mind-body connection--the relationship between stress and disease.  The speaker (head of psychiatry at Stanford) said, among other things, that one of the best things that a man could do for his health is to be married to a woman whereas for a woman, one of the best things she could do for her health was to nurture her relationships with her girlfriends.  At first everyone laughed, but he was serious. 
      
Women connect with each other differently and provide support systems that help each other to deal with stress and difficult life experiences. Physically this quality "girlfriend time" helps us to create more seratonin--a neurotransmitter that helps combat depression and can create a general feeling of well being.  Women share feelings whereas men often form relationships around  activities. They rarely sit down with a buddy and talk about how they feel about certain things or how their personal lives are going.  Jobs? Yes.  Sports? Yes.  Cars? Yes.  Fishing, hunting, golf?  Yes.  But their feelings?--rarely. Women do it all of the time. We share from our souls with our sisters, and evidently that is very good for our health.  He said that spending time with a friend is just as important to our general health as jogging or working out at a gym. 
      
There's a tendency to think that when we are "exercising" we are doing something good for our bodies, but when we are hanging out with friends, we are wasting our time and should be more productively engaged--not true.  In fact, he said that failure to create and maintain quality personal relationships with other humans is as dangerous to our physical health as smoking!  So every time you hang out to shmooze with a gal pal, just pat yourself on the back and congratulate yourself for doing something good for your health!  We are indeed very very lucky.   Sooooo let's toast to our friendship with our girlfriends. Evidently it's very good for our health. 

How lucky am I?

Exceedingly so...to be surrounded by friends and family I adore.  And always, there are new additions to the cast of characters.  This time it's Chuck, the coqui frog hunter, who happened by on more than one occasion to capture the little croaking critters. 

See bottom of jar/two small eyes/very tiny body/Very Large Voice.  Our conversation turned to our friend, Kathi, and our journey to help her be well.  Here are Chuck's bits of brilliance:

“Sorry we didn't have better luck catching frogs.  Your quest to find that spiritual place is a journey we all begin at birth.  It’s within us all and I think it’s just human nature.  Calming the mind and enjoying The Now should be our guide.  I enjoy meeting your guests; they always seem so happy.  Have a good day.”

“Don't get me started but one of my favorites is, "You're only one thought away from happiness."  I'm going to quit while I'm still on a parallel universe with the Dalai Lama.  If it's OK, I'll forfeit American Idol and be out there Tuesday night.  If it's any consolation, in Puerto Rico it’s good luck to have one frog in your garden.”

“Funny how things work.  I must give thanks where they are due.  Thank you, Mr. Coqui, for providing me the opportunity to meet such wonderful people.  Enjoy a delectable combination of savory seafoods interwoven with fresh garden greens perfectly ripened fruits, and ever so artfully prepared and presented as "Crab Salad ala PVC."  Have a nice day.”

You, too, Chuck.   PS.  How lucky are we that we’ve had a frog or two with us on this journey?  Very.

Edible petals defined the difference

Driver or passenger. Chauffeur or being chauffeured.  With or without/alcohol. 

Pomegranate juice, a squeeze of lime, fresh mint and sparkling water or champagne (with violas/pansies).  Your choice.  Both were excellent!  Here are a few of the details from today's celebration. A new child is being born into this world. Cheers! 

  

  

One Fine Day with Favorite Friends, Feathered and Otherwise

Sensory overload.  An abundance of good things.  Upcoming baby showers.  Yoga Birthdays.  Dental and chiropractic appointments/foot fixed/call me, Anne.  Capturing spring on my camera and in the shopping cart/Cost Plus.  Learning about New Year celebrations in Iran.  Preparations for tomorrow's celebration of a soon-to-be-birth/a hodge-podge of colors and things that make you laugh or smile.  If not, there's something wrong.  Thinking about Kathi and praying for her strength.  Welcoming friends/daughters/babies. Chickens to see. For the first time.  Grandmas with babies/but not feeling or looking old enough to be a grandparent.  Reminiscing about life with a wonderful, long-time  friend/talking about what little time is left/and very much appreciating what time we DO have/it's all really relative.  What could be more poignant/more satisfying/more fun/more colorful/more smile-producing?  Not a lot.  This is it.  Today. Much love sent to all of you. 

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/GDl-3ZtLsh3vxoTg48hkVA?authkey=Gv1sRgCKnzrOqyjrHJzQE&feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_B-jgpkHMUzo/S6RSDuiSq9I/AAAAAAACrso/Jqm25qskXQc/s288/IMG_0237.JPG" /></a>

Springing Forward

As you step out in some pretty sensational designer shoes made by, that's right, YOU! 

Hey, if I can do it, so can you.

Thanks to my super creative/tremendously artistic/extraordinarily generous/collector-of-all-sorts-of-amazing-stuff friend, Susan, we left her garage workshop with shoes in hand and the sense that we all were incredibly talented. How much fun is THAT?

A lot, apparently, since I immediately placed mine on the dashboard and took pictures while driving home. Not a good idea. It was an exceedingly Joy-Filled Afternoon then. And even now as I look back at pictures of our time together.

Just gather together whatever you happen to have on hand. Or head to your local craft shop for spring flowers, foliage, fruit, bugs and/or beads AND, critical ingredient: Gem-Tac* or other permanent adhesive glue which, in this instance, was found superior to using a glue gun. Shop in your closet or a local thrift shop/Ross/Target for some comfy/cheap shoes or sandals that could use some embellishment. Then have at it. Helpful addition: Clothes pins to hold pieces in place while drying. Another perfect project for bringing friends together. 

Sending you, dear Kathi, the strength, tenacity, boldness, beauty and power of spring

Dear dear Kathi,

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Know that those of us who know and love you AS WELL AS many, many others who only know of you will be holding you and your darling family in our hearts and prayers tonight, tomorrow during your surgery and as you begin the process of recovery.

Be strong. Be brave. Breathe, darling friend.