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the hype of joy. [kerri’s blog on merely-a-thought monday]

the hype is on.

anywhere we go now – the home improvement store, costco, various other sundry-type stores – it has become the holiday season.

frankly, this year i understand it. i could even go so far as to say i embrace it.

people are looking for light and walking through the doors into a winter wonderland of decorations and holiday hoopla is most definitely somewhat spirit-lifting.

in our sunroom, on top of the little wooden cabinet that holds espresso cups and cloth napkins, right next to the nespresso machine, is a little stack of wooden boxes. the bottom box is a cigar box that was my grandmother mama dear’s. it has a magic marker letter Z on it because she, an amazing seamstress, stored zippers in it. next is a wooden box with a sliding lid – from my poppo’s workbench – that held bolts and now holds vintage clothespins. then – on the top – the piece de resistance – is the old wooden box-joint/dovetail cornered bakery crate from the mid-1900s. hanscom’s bakery was in philadelphia and used these wooden crates for their popular holiday fruit cake.

now, i realize that fruit cake will elicit a wide spectrum of visceral responses. i think, actually, that most people do not like fruit cake – rum and brandy soaked with sweet fruits and nuts and citron topping. it’s likely a texture thing. or a sweet fruit thing. or the fact that one piece could keep an army of people full for a very long time. nevertheless, i grew up on fruit cake.

my sweet momma would buy them in those familiar metal tins and we’d each have a chance to, well, at least pretend we were enjoying it. in later years, she gave each branch of the family a fruit cake of their own. it sort of marked the beginning of the holiday season, like poinsettias and wreaths.

anyway, the wooden box is exquisite and was also in my dad’s garage workshop and is one of my inherited treasures from him. and right now, i am delighted that its presence in our sunroom – where we are spending sooo much time with – and helping – our sweet vestibular-syndromed-dogga – might mark a start to a holiday season of light.

in the rest of decorating, we will wait a while. i’ll try to hold off until thanksgiving so as to relish the rest of fall, my favorite season.

but then, all bets are off. and i will join with the retail world in the hype – even perhaps overdoing the joy.

because, heck, we sure could use some more joy now.

fruit cake? not so much. but joy? absolutely.

*****

read DAVID’s thoughts this MERELY-A-THOUGHT MONDAY

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the seagull and the wave. [kerri’s blog on d.r. thursday]

….and the seagull stood

on the edge of the blue wave

watching and watching

filled with gratitude

for this nation that fought back

against all evil

he will stand there now

like the rest of us here, with

relentless courage

as this tide rolls, he

contemplates what’s next so that

goodness will prevail.

*****

read DAVID’s haiku this D.R. THURSDAY

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breathe in hope. [kerri’s blog on not-so-flawed wednesday]

late-late last night, with cautious hope, we went to sleep.

early-early this morning, with cautious hope, we rose to a new day.

we keep breathing…inhale…exhale…inhale…exhale….

with gratitude for a nation of people who spoke up, stood up, rose up, and voted.

with gratitude for younger and remarkably diverse candidates – with spectacular talent and vision.

holding to this blue wave with tenacity, knowing the road forward will not be easy.

but it is lined with the reminder of decency and morality, integrity and a staunch belief in democracy.

inhale…exhale…inhale…exhale…

*****

read DAVID’s thoughts this NOT-SO-FLAWED WEDNESDAY

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do your part. [kerri’s blog on merely-a-thought monday]

read. think. vote.

it would seem obvious.

and desperately important.

because perhaps – in exercising your citizen rights and duties – you should be as informed as possible.

because perhaps – in exercising your citizen rights and duties – you should balance what you have learned with what moral integrity actually means and determine where – on the continuum – you honestly stand.

because perhaps – in exercising your citizen rights and duties – you should seek the truth – not just the bandwagon hooplah of your political bubble, the one that excuses you from any other research.

because perhaps – in exercising your citizen rights and duties – you should maybe feel protective of your citizen rights and duties.

because perhaps – in exercising your citizen rights and duties – you should vote for that which will ensure you continue to have these citizen rights and duties.

read. think. vote.

yup. it’s obvious.

and it’s desperately important.

do your part.

please.

*****

read DAVID’s thoughts this MERELY-A-THOUGHT MONDAY

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goodness. [kerri’s blog on not-so-flawed wednesday]

dogga had had lunch and snicky-snack was about three hours away. he seemed to be in good spirits and looked to be about to take his early afternoon nap. it was a beautiful day – absolutely gorgeous – blue sky, sunny, warm. so, for the first time in a long time, we decided to go hike the loop river trail. got our stuff together and drove down to the trailhead.

the white asters were blooming in the underbrush, the milkweed’s seedpods were splitting, with silky white filaments exploding from them. tiny purple blossoms were open to the sun and three snakes lined our way. a gorgeous day in the woods.

and then, the dandelion! this dandy hanger-on-er happily positioned itself around the bend and, as i approached, it smiled.

we are rapidly approaching the very end of october and, yet, here was this brilliant brightest yellow, reminding me that truly beneficial things do survive – the dandelion’s whole flower and stem nutritious for all the critters. this little flower. hanging on.

i suppose that is a good lesson for us all – particularly as we approach this midterm election: goodness does survive.

many people are out there voting early now. the ads and extreme pundits are getting uglier. the administration is losing whatever is left of their depraved minds.

but good people are also getting loud, louder.

please join with the dandelions out there. be the brilliant brightest everywhere, be what is beneficial for our country.

please be goodness.

please vote for goodness.

*****

read DAVID’s thoughts this NOT-SO-FLAWED WEDNESDAY

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breathe. [kerri’s blog on k.s. friday]

in the middle of the guided imagery, she says the words, “like a lake with no ripples.” even now – really, anytime – i can hear the rise and fall of her voice, the rhythm of these words, the feeling of them as they fall upon my mind’s eye.

guided imagery is a form of meditation that seems to work better for me than silent meditation – which is a field day for my mind to wander. i know i need more practice, for i do not have a quiet mind. instead, i am list-making, worrying, fretting over details. guided imagery takes me on specific paths and i try to steer away from distraction accordingly.

in these times we have found that – at the end of our daily exercise regimen – listening to an evocative piece of music helps us. the cinematic painting the music creates flushes out some of the other stuff – the stuff that’s nagging us. following the music we turn on the guided imagery. i mean, eighteen minutes on a yoga mat just laying and listening is not to be underestimated.

if i have any trouble with the “like a lake with no ripples” my mind conjures up our lake – on days like this.

glassy-like – ever so gently – i hold this tenderly – the sky low on the horizon the color of mango sorbet, the aquamarine and navy blue water seemingly waiting for the slightest pin-drop, the tiniest movement, with the softest waves rolling into the shoreline.

my sweet momma and poppo – in their last years together – lived on a little lake. they would sit for hours and watch the lake, the waterfowl, rain on the surface, any rippling result of wind passing over the body of water.

neither of them did any sort of meditation. but this was – indeed – their form of seeking peace, seeking quieted minds. i have no doubt that their little lake was a panacea for them in many ways…for contemplation, musing, reflection. though mindfulness may not have been an active or conscious pursuit, they – unknowingly – pursued it nonetheless.

with everything that is happening around us these days – in these times, in our life, in this country, in this world – we find we must proactively and intentionally set about finding ways to quiet our minds and bodies.

i am still working at it, but – i must say – finding my way to that place of mind-body balance feels like one of the most important things. it’s called a practice for a reason, i suppose. there is always a place to reach for that stills the wandering of your mind and brings focus back to your breath.

there is always a place where my mind might reflect this beautiful lake with no ripples and where my body might breathe as gently as the waves that lap on this shoreline.

*****

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read DAVID’s thoughts this K.S. FRIDAY

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our lighthouse. [kerri’s blog on d.r. thursday]

it was nearly 8pm on july 30 when I photographed this sunset on the harbor channel.

we have noticed how dark it is at 8pm now. we have noticed how – in walks west on the channel – how much earlier the sun is setting, how much further to the south the sun rests.

time just marches on.

every friday we look at each other – in surprise – and say, “it’s friday again.” stunning how it all races by. all of it.

after our sweet dogga was seriously ill, we deep-dive researched and changed up his diet to bland homemade foods and monitored him closely. for eleven days he was better. he ate without getting sick, he began to run in the backyard, he looked at us with puppyface eyes. we were immensely grateful.

the day that he got sick – twelve days later – made us scared and destroyed any confidence we had in what had now become routine – making every meal and snicky-snack by hand – and watching to see how he handled it. he is our guiding light and we were taking our cues from him.

we still are. i am writing this post ahead – several days ahead, actually. so i am hoping that by the time it publishes, we are back in a steady zone, that our little lighthouse is guiding us and our care of him through these tougher senior-dog days.

i know that it is important to our dogga that we are centered in this time. i know that it is important to our dogga that we stay focused and balanced, that we don’t forget, that we don’t lose our footing – no matter what happens. i know that the gift of this aussie anam cara is the gift of a lighthouse for the entire time he has been with us, for the entire time he will – sometime – be with us from the plane of existence right next to this plane.

he is our soul dog.

time is speeding by in real life. but here – as we hold caregiving space for the australian shepherd who has taken care of us all these years – it is slower.

in slow motion, we bend to kiss the top of his head, ruffle those incredibly soft aussie ears, whisper how much he is loved.

and the sun rises and sets – and it’s all a mystery – for us and our lighthouse.

*****

read DAVID’s thoughts this D.R. THURSDAY

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tired. [kerri’s blog on not-so-flawed wednesday]

it’s pretty tiring.

i look at this photograph – of the manmade jetty, a breakwater out by the harbor channel heading east into the lake. the black boulders, the white boulders – both granite, i suppose – built up to somewhat protect the channel from the potential intensity of the lake.

these giant rocks, their color, their purpose – they bring two randomly different things to mind – both of which i have written about.

first, the quote: a ship in the harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.(john a. shedd)

second, the song: the ink is black, the page is white – a child is black, a child is white, the whole world looks upon the sight…a beautiful sight….(david arkin/earl robinson)

and right now? right now both make me tired.

ships – and people – and countries – weren’t built to be insular, to pull up the sidewalks, turn off the lights, lock the doors. instead, they were meant to go out, to explore, to break bread with others, to protect one another from dangerous energy or rogue waves, to raise up the infinite number of ways that we are all interdependent, to love one another.

children weren’t born insular, holding each other at bay, pointing fingers and spewing hateful rhetoric. instead, they were born with the ability to love in their hearts, learning to recognize how important interaction with others is – regardless of any physical or social or ANY differences – acknowledging we are all spokes in a big giant wheel living on this mother earth, we are all worthy and can – and should – work together to stay safe from any kind of harm. inherent goodness. any other messages – messages of disdain and cruelty – children are – devastatingly – taught these.

i’m not sure how many times i have written – ranted – about such things.

and while we are on the subject of ranting about really offensive – evil – stuff, i’m not even sure how many times i have been vocal – totally appalled – about those freakish people who find the current administration’s twisted vileness charming or entertaining or the least bit acceptable.

it all makes me really, really tired.

the breakwater – positioned close to the lighthouse – is there to help protect the harbor channel, to ensure safe passage.

it is not to keep people in or to keep people out.

what kind of pitiful world needs that kind of limits? what kind of world needs finger-pointing bigotry, limits on the freedoms promised in the constitution, an insularity based on extreme racism and ethnocentrism? what kind of world needs hatred as a guiding light?

“some days, you’re just tired from needing to be stronger than you feel.” (unknown)

*****

read DAVID’s thoughts this FLAWED WEDNESDAY

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from our backdoor. [kerri’s blog on two artists tuesday]

we have been spending a lot of time near home these days. with the uncertainty of our sweet old dogga, it is nearly impossible to make any plans to go away. we need to be here with him – through all the challenges his senior roller coaster presents.

and so, our hikes-for-miles are exchanged for walks-for-miles and are from our backdoor.

we take them at different times of day and in different weather. it is truly gobsmacking what is right nearby and, on these days close-to-home, we are taking care to notice that and appreciate it.

late on a stunning late-september afternoon – delaying dinner prep for a couple hours – we took off from home.

walking east along the marina we could see the smallest softest-pink half circle rising out of the lake. as we got closer, the pastel palette of sky continued to change hue – and the harvest moon began to make its way into the horizon.

we did absolutely nothing to help this moonrise – we simply stood in awe, staring at its stellar performance, soaking in the sheer beauty, the predictability of a moonrise, the comfort of something so normal yet so entirely gorgeous.

after a bit we noticed that many people had gathered on the rocks to watch, also obviously enchanted by it, also photographing it.

a sailboat was heading north and passed directly in front of the moon. as it continued to sail, people were comparing notes about their videos and photos of this moment in time – a moment we had all shared.

it was as if everyone was – for these minutes – on the same page. we could all agree that this soft-pink harvest moonrise was glorious.

if only all the rest of life-these-days were as aligned.

*****

read DAVID’s thoughts this TWO ARTISTS TUESDAY

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protect. preserve. [kerri’s blog on merely-a-thought monday]

just a block or so east, around the bend and a bit further south is the southport beach house. built during the years 1936-1941, the united states department of the interior has since declared that it is on the national register of historic places. a bit up the shoreline is simmons island beach house, built around the same time, also a designated historical site. both are stunning eclectic examples of tudor revival buildings on the shoreline, architecturally beautiful.

we are deeply connected to “our” beach house for many reasons, including that it is in our ‘hood. it was the site of our wedding reception – so it is filled with memories of people we love, toasts, a food truck, music, a bonfire, hula hoops and daisy cupcakes. we will forever feel connected to that art deco place and love that it has undergone renovation and preservation work, just as the simmons beach house has as well.

it isn’t all that complicated. protecting history and historic sites for this-land-is-your-land-this-land-is-my-land seems pretty basic.

but we live in a country with an administration that struggles to embrace truth – the truth of history, the truth of how historic sites inform us. instead of telling an honest story, they are choosing to whitewash anything that gets in the way of their extremist-male-dominated-white-supremacist narrative.

instead of preserving all of which has made this nation both beautiful and ugly, both stunning and stunned, both rich with hope and deeply wounded by the lack of this-land-was-made-for-you-and-me civil rights for all, this administration chooses to move forward with dumping history, banning books, paving and mining our national parklands, decimating the peoples’ house, rescinding the endangered species act, tossing environmental and wildlife protection management, eliminating mention of slavery and climate change… the list is expansive – all brought to you by this gluttonous administration and its wildly-bowing – and – wildly-profiteering sycophants.

the same department that listed southport beach house on the historic register: the department of the interior – whose mission statement is: “the u.s. department of the interior protects and manages the nation’s natural resources and cultural heritage; provides scientific and other information about those resources; and honors its trust responsibilities or special commitments to american indians, alaska natives, native hawaiians, and affiliated island communities.”

uh-huh.

riiight.

*****

read DAVID’s thoughts this MERELY-A-THOUGHT MONDAY

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