Amystery

oops

Well, so NaBloPoMo eh? Guess I kind of fell down on that one. I'm not sure what happened, I was on a role and then...no inspiration, nothin'. Hopefully I will return soon with something special or may be not so special to say.

home office

I rarely get to work from home anymore, there was a time that I only worked from home and it began to feel suffocating. I am happy that I have a good, supportive work environment to go to everyday, but on days like today when I get to work part of the day from home, well that is delightful. Here are a few of things that make it such a nice change...

a happy dog lying in front of the heater with his hedgehog

this little face staring up at you

endless cups of tea

and this view out the window....

it's in the stars

I subscribe to Rob Brezney's horoscopes via email, they are always entertaining and occasionally quite accurate. I laughed out loud at the following excerpt from his book that accompanied the horoscopes this week, you should definitely check him out.........

Rob Brezney's book:"PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA:How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings"is available for sale at http://tinyurl.com/qaj62 To read news and features from the book, go here:http://tinyurl.com/lhwx2

Here's an excerpt:

YOUR BRAND NEW NAME

In some spiritual traditions, devotees attempt an arduous process of self-
transformation as they retrain themselves to perceive the world from
God's point of view. If they succeed, they're honored with an initiation
ritual and given a new name to consecrate their altered state.

I have the same problem with this custom that I have with the idea of
enlightenment: Once isn't enough. Just as anyone in his or her right
spiritual mind has a duty to keep claiming fresh varieties of enlightenment
until the end of time, so should the initiations and renamings continue
forever.

In my opinion, these considerations apply to you. You may not have
sequestered yourself for years in a mountaintop monastery, and you may
not have risen every morning at 5 a.m. to say prayers for hours, but you
are an authentic devotee who has undergone equivalent ordeals. Your
spiritual transformation has unfolded as you've dealt with the challenges
of daily life during our epic moment in history, when unprecedented levels
of annihilation and resurrection are the norm.

You have earned the right, therefore, to enjoy enlightenment after
enlightenment and initiation after initiation and renaming after renaming.

I invite you to get started with a do-it-yourself initiation ceremony. It
doesn't have to be long and complicated, and you can create it yourself.
As an example of what you might do, here's a ritual that some Beauty and
Truth Laboratory's initiates have performed: 1. Eat a pinch of dirt to
declare your solidarity with Mother Earth. 2. Burn a five-dollar bill to purify
your relationship with symbols of wealth. 3. Kick yourself in the ass to
affirm your ongoing intention to discipline your shadow.

As one of your initiatory rewards, consider adopting a fresh alias during
this and every initiation you carry out in the future. You can abandon your
existing name if you want, or simply add your new tag to the current mix.

To celebrate the occasion, I invoke on your behalf the inspiration of all
shedding things. Your tree of power will be the eucalyptus, whose bark
peels away to reveal fresh layers beneath. Your lucky symbol will be the
molting snake. Your sacred insect will be the silverfish, which bursts
through its exoskeleton as it grows a new and bigger one. Your role model
will be Japanese artist Hokusai (1760–1849), who had such a passionate
commitment to reinventing himself that he celebrated 60 births, each
time giving himself a new name.

Below is a list of titles and names you might want to steal for your own
use. Feel free to dream up your own, of course.

Wild Face
Shadow Wrestler
Kiss Genius
Goal Thwacker
Boink Worthy
Fizzy Nectar
Rumbler
Thrill Witch
Rowdy Gusto
Bliss Mutator
Silky Banger
Phoenix Nectar
Mucho Gusto Coco Loco
Mango Sucker
Pain Killer
Fire Keeper
Wobble Binder
Earthshaker
Wish Crayon
Pearly Thunder
Thumper
Gut Stormer
Storm Tamer
Free Sigh

ritual

Swish, the match strikes the side of the box

Whoosh, the flame leaps to life under the kettle

Plop, my choice of tea bag goes in my teapot; a cup is chosen, this one has been a favorite lately

Hiss, there is no whistle on my kettle, just the sound of the cast iron vibrating

Trickle goes the water into my teapot

And then only a few minutes of steeping and another cup of tea is made. I don't know how I would make it through winter without my tea. Join me for a cup?

Art direction, model and processing by me, photographs by dave

glimpses of my day

~ doughnuts and coffee with the newspaper, preferably The New York Times.

~ a long walk with the dog during daylight hours. it is cold enough that my hair turned white with frost from my breath.

~domino, dwell and the new gourmet while curled up in my papasan. i always find it so ironic that I read (and subscribe) to magazine like domino and dwell when I live in a 750 square foot waterless cabin. I don't even have closets let alone a toilet.

~ dessert and toddies with friends, there was much giggling and a serious sugar high.

~ the third and fourth discs of "My So-Called Life", wow I'm glad I don't ever have to go through high school again, although it is quite entertaining watching this show. It came out during my first year of college, but I still remember being able to relate to it then.

~ a three day weekend thanks to this cold. tomorrow morning will come far too early for my liking.

alphabits

Mochi and I say "hi".

I am borrowing a marvelous prompt from bohemian girl , unfortunately I don't have anything terribly exciting to write about, so here are the ABCs of me.

A-for Amy of course, I've never really liked my name, maybe it is because when I was a kid I never knew anyone older that was named Amy. When I was little I wanted it to at least be Aimee, a bit more exotic.

B-for breakfast, I don't like to eat breakfast in the morning, but I have a great appreciation for it. I just need an hour or two after I wake up before I'm ready for it.

C-coffee and chocolate, two things I couldn't live without. I especially love decaf soy envelopes...mmm.

D-is for dogs, my first dog's name was Doc, my parents let me name him when I was 3 or 4. I didn't have another dog in my life until Yukon, my big fluff ball of joy.

E-is for eclectic, my taste in music, art, books, clothing cannot be defined into a category, I always break the mold.

F-is for freckles. As a kid I had a lot of freckles, I have less now, but still plenty, especially on my shoulders.

G-is for garden. I love my garden, my mom put me charge of the herb part of the garden as a kid and I took to it with enthusiasm. I plan and dream all winter for my garden.

H-is for hope. I try no matter what to always have hope.

I-is for illuminate...just because I love that word and the idea, whether it is illuminating the room or illuminating my soul.

J-junk, I have far too much of it.

K-is for kitchen, the place I most like to be. It is my sanctuary and the place where I can think clearly.

L-is for lightning, I was almost hit by lightning when I was a kid. It hit the house directly behind mine but the light and heat threw me backwards and scared the crap out of my parents. I'm still quite nervous around lightning.

M- is for May, the month I was born. I always thought it was cool that my name can be rearranged to spell the name of the month of my birthday.

N-normal, I am anything but normal. Is anyone normal?

O-optics, I have worn glasses since the 4th grade, but I only wear them occasionally. I really want to go get a pair of funky frames, but I don't have insurance that covers eyes and man are those exams expensive.

P-pink, I hated it as a kid and especially as a teenager, but now I kind of like it.

Q-quiet. I am a quiet person by nature, rather shy and reserved.

R-reading. I do a lot of reading. My parents got to a point when I was younger that they refused to buy me anymore books, but made me go to the library because I read them too fast. The majority of the possessions I own are books, far too many books. And I read all of my books more than once.

S-siblings. I don't have any brothers or sisters and as a result I am fascinated by other relationships between siblings. I always want to be enveloped in the love of sisters, or over protective brothers. Instead I am an only child, and oldest of the grandchildren.

T-is for tea, man do I love tea. My tea collection is constantly falling out of the cabinet and I am always on the lookout for new teas. My current favorite is Hot Apple Cider tea from Republic of tea followed by Green Tea Chai.

U-underwear, I don't have nearly enough sexy underwear, most of mine are stretched out and old. I could really use a personal shopper, I hate shopping, I get so easily discouraged.

V-voluptuous, not quite although I do have some curves, more than enough.

W-wheels, the wheels turning in my head, the wheels turning on my bike, the symbol of a wheel appears over and over again in my life.

X-x, wow I have no idea what to put down for X.

Y-yoga, I have had a yoga practice for twelve years now and I never get tired of it.

Z-Zada, it has been a couple months now, but it feels like yesterday that I lost her. I miss her everyday.

captured sunlight

Those of you who live in the dark regions of the world maybe familiar with a little thing called SAD. For those of you blessed with sunshine year round that stands for Seasonal Affective Disorder. My first few years up here I was in denial that I was affected by the dark, but deep down I knew better. One of the reason I moved away from Washington was because the dark, rainy winters were beginning to bother me. I justified the move by saying that at least the snow would make it better, right? I would want to ski and it would seem brighter with snow for all available light to reflect off of. The reality is that I grew up in Colorado, I spent the first eighteen years of my life in a sunny climate, of course I have SAD. Now each winter I work hard to fend off the SAD demon. First thing in the morning I turn on my "happy light" as I call it, many watts of super duper simulated sunlight. Exercise is key, the more endorphins running through my body the better. Too cold outside to ski or bike? Then it is time to ramp up the yoga practice. The hardest part about SAD is the beginning of the downward spiral, it usually hits me this time of year and when it is compounded with a cold I find it hard to jump start my schedule of dealing. So I look at my pictures of the sunlight, my travels to warm places, blooming summer time flowers and remind myself that it is almost the darkest time of the year, and then it will be time for the sun to make its way around again.

one of those days

I'm having one of those days. My entire body feels sleepy, slow, my throat sore. I don't feel quite right, the entire world is too loud, too vibrant and far too much for me today. In short, I think I am coming down with a cold. The timing is not the greatest as I am supposed to leave tomorrow for a cabin getaway with some wonderful women, but if I don't feel better I don't know if I will be up to it. Tonight I am going to curl up in my papasan with some tea and hope that tomorrow with be better...it usually is.

squashed

Washing Vegetables

In these fresh vegetables
I see a green sun.
All dharmas join together
to make life possible.

-Thich Nhat Hanh. 2006. Present Moment Wonderful Moment. Parallax Press.

tales from the bike seat

photo processed with Rustic Relics action

I am crazy that is all I can think, why else would I insist on riding my bike in the winter in Alaska? With my big yellow pogies (that would be giant mitts that fit over my handle bars) and studded tires; covered with blinking lights and dressed in layers. It is truly crazy, perhaps even suicidal, but there are so many moments of peace that come during my rides. Tonight it quickly went from dusk to almost entirely dark and as I approached the highest point of my ride I could see all of Fairbanks spread out below me surrounded with an orange glow and a matching magenta sunset. The ride was pretty good, the snow is mostly packed and I only had a few moments of surfing as my back tire would slide. Home looks that much more inviting after seven miles on your wheels, warm and comfortable.