The bruises that bind us.

We are such fragile creatures.

In everyday ways, our skin, our hearts, our very lives run the daily risk of being wounded.

After all, everyone falls down now and then. Sometimes we fall because our foot fails to navigate one of many stair steps. Other times we tumble down under the weight of lost love, love betrayed or a love uninvestigated. Sometimes we just get to running so quickly that we trip over our own feet.

Regardless of the how, or the where, or the why, we all stumble. More often than not, most of us will rise up, dust ourselves off , and carry on as we had before...except perhaps for a few new bruises here and there.

I sometimes think that that it is our bruises which bind us all together. Whether it is the bruised heart of a lover scorned or the bruised chin of a fool hardy child, our bruises blossom in shades of purple, orange, yellow and red to testify to our common humanity.

It is a shame that we don't wear our emotional, spiritual and psychological bruises the way we do our physical bruises. I think we would have much more empathy and compassion for one another if we did and we'd certainly have a lot less anger, sorrow and despair.

But then, I think the world would be a better place if we'd all live our lives inside out...

Knob Connoisseur!

Lampwork knob made by Michele Goldstein

Knobs!

Oh, but I love beautiful knobs!

This gorgeous periwinkle and lime green knob is the envy of every knob lover in my neighborhood!

In fact, I'm rather surprised some enterprising criminal hasn't stolen it right off the front of my little mail box slot!

I suppose it's easier for the thieves in my neighborhood to help themselves to my geranium pots and to the children's broken sit-n-spin!

Go figure!

That's a wrap!

It's raining today.

It's that cold, inconsiderate kind of rain that just seems to go on and on with no breaks in the gray or respite from the humidity.....

Of course, rainy days aren't all bad. In my opinion, these crazy water logged days create the perfect backdrops for serial movie watching!

All a person has to do is to pop the popcorn, grab that cotton candy, open up a can of their favorite bubbly beverage and throw in the DVD! Voila! There you have it! Your very own home movie theater!

Ahhhh, but not all of us are content just watching movies. For those individuals who desire to make their own movie magic there are a variety of free online sites to peruse!

Check out the dfilm link. This site allows you create your own three scene digital masterpiece by using this site's various scenic backdrops, cartoon characters, musical scores and by inserting your own dialogue. It does have its limitations; but all in all, it's a rather fun way to grow a few more computer chair barnacles on your backside!

Go ahead! What are you waiting for? Click the link and test your own directorial skills!

http://www.dfilm.com/index_moviemaker.html

Eye candy for the soul!

Photo by Michele Goldstein

Spring!

Springtime is exploding in some great, unfathomable Big Bang of new life!

Thousands upon thousands of crocus, daffodils, snow drops, dandelions and iris blossoms rise up out of the earth! The apple, pear, cherry and peach trees are bursting into bloom.

My four year old insists that these blossom fluffed trees look like living popcorn balls perched upon sturdy trunks! I cannot help but agree with her!

Surely springtime is eye candy for the soul?

Become a poem!

This is what you shall do:
Love the earth and the sun and the animals;
despise riches, give alms to everyone who asks;
stand up for the stupid and crazy,
devote your income and labor to others;
hate tyrants;
argue not concerning God;
have patience and indulgence toward the people.
... Re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book;
dismiss what insults your very soul,
and your very flesh shall become a great poem.

~ Walt Whitman


Oh, if only Walt Whitman were alive, he could eat crackers in my bed any time!

There is wisdom in this poem, and joy, and acceptance. (I personally find these qualities very attractive in a man!)

I think the only thing that I would change about this poem is the very last word. I would replace "poem" with "psalm". A psalm is a poem, but it is also a prayer. I think it would be a wonderful thing to become the living embodiment of my own prayers.

Right now, I often do the very things I pray against. I am unkind when I desire compassion. I am impatient when I desire patience. I seek to be understood more than to understand....Well, you get the idea, right?

Right now, I am not "the living embodiment" of my own prayers; but I do aspire to be! Sometimes that is enough. For me at least, the simple act of desiring brings me one step closer to my own peace of spirit.

And one step closer to peace is definately enough for this battle-weary woman!

Silk Angel!

What happens when you give me a piece of silk crepe, some beads, fresh water pearls, wings and a face cab?

Why, I'll make an angel of course!

This little angel is destined for inclusion on a page in an altered board book that I began working over the weekend. The background in the photo happens to be the page background as well! There are still other elements to collage and to tack down, but I'm sure liking the angel!

She's a tiny angel...only a few inches tall! The beads that I used range in size 13/0 to 16/0. Those of you who know bead sizes, know that these are little hummers!

Sheesh! I'm not sure which was worse, chasing those 16/0's all around or trying to thread the needle small enough to fit through the bead holes! I tell you what, I almost became permanently cross-eyed trying to thread that darn needle! Once upon a time, I was able to thread my needle with great flair and ease!

Isn't it strange that my physical sight would begin to dim, just as my inner eye begins to see more clearly?

All I have to say is, "Thank goodness for bifocals!"

Do You See What I See?

Wow!

Check it out! Do you see what I see?

My amazing 15 year old daughter is number one in her class! She almost had a heart attack when we received her report card and she saw her class ranking. She truly had no idea.

It is a rare thing to see a 15 year old woman-child, so remarkably humble.

I think people have the wrong idea about what it means to be humble. I see humility as a state of being, a way of understanding who one is and of knowing one's areas of giftedness without thinking too much or too little of one's own self. It's about being "right sized". It's about being confident of one's place in the world.

I love my daughter, not because she is academically gifted, but because she is still so willing to sit with me, to speak with me, to try to understand who I am as her mother and as woman. That my friends, is an even more amazing thing than being ranked 1 out of 546.

So, when I ask the question, "Do you see what I see?" it really isn't about my daughter's grades, or her class ranking. It's about her humility, her joy, and her sincere love for others.

Ok, so maybe I am bragging just a little; but I guarantee you, if you were this young woman's mother, you would brag too!