The Security Guard

Sometime in October, Willie brought home this board he found on the side of the road that was painted like a magician on one side with the face cut out for a live person to put his/her own head and be transformed on film into a magician. A typical carnival type photo op. The board had brackets on one side to allow the board to stand up. Willie was committed to standing the board in the front yard, despite the fact that I assured him Reno's Wind God would not permit it...never mind me. After the wind blew it over for the umpteenth time, Mr. Magician was transported to the back patio dangerously close to the fireplace fuel pile.

During the course of yard prep for winter, I tore down the crawling vine type plant off the side of the patio and the roof. We are going to have the house painted in the spring, plus the vine had grown over a good part of the patio roof, which has a leak already and is now ready for repair. I have quite the plan for this little side of the yard, and this was a big first step in the evolution of the space.

The wooden lattice making up the patio walls is definitely on the decaying side, there were several badly broken areas and I had the idea to just cut them out and have a window of light flowing into the patio. Willie had the power saw in the patio because he was cutting up tree trimmings Jacob brought me for the fireplace, so I walked around the house and into the back. I took stock of the space I wanted to cut, then realized what I really wanted was a door on this side of the patio. When Willie finished the branch he was working on, I asked him to cut a door for me, and he did. I am beyond thrilled with our new access, and now we can load wood right in the patio so easily, instead of carting it all the way around the house, or from the alley. And when I was working on the flower beds in the following weeks, it was just heaven to have that access to the backyard and patio. Love it. Love it.Love it.

Everything new has it's challenge, and a wide open door was a wind tunnel through the patio, blowing elm tree leaves into the space at a staggering rate. I went over to sit on the back doorsteps and I saw the magician. He was a near perfect fit for the opening. Joy filled me up as I positioned him in front of the door. He still had his wind weakness, but it was easy enough to find some weight to put at his back to give him the strength he needed.

For some reason this just tickled me to tears and I ran in the house to get the camera. As I was taking pictures, I thought to myself, we have our own security guard. And now we call him The Security Guard.

Along the fence in the back, I have been depositing all the yard trimmings. I plan to create a raised bed here and this stuff will be excellent filler. Plus Bill and I recycle everything from the yard back into the soil somewhere, the leaves, the grass clippings, the dead flowers, as well as our personal compost of egg shells, fruit and vegetable leftovers. I relish the fact that everything in the yard that Vanessa's dad so lovingly tended all his life is a continuing part of this property feeding the new plants, flowers,vegetables and ultimately, me.

The inside patio view is a bit messy, but I was in the middle of working and I really did not care, I was just trying to capture the idea of what was going on. The back of the Security guard will be getting painted with something sooner than later.

I just adore my little house. Life is Good.

Precious Moments Remembered

A friend of Raym's from way back named Ayk attended Shareef and Emily's wedding in August. Ayk is engaged to a delightful young woman named Liza. Ayk was in the wedding party, but Liza sat at our table, which was right in front. We worked out the odd seating, by being a couple who was attending with a member of the wedding party. At the wedding Liza took quite a few pictures and we friended, (ha! this came up on spell check.. a new word!Yeah!) each other on Facebook at dinner. I felt very hip, by the way, with my new snazzy phone with Facebook already set up, and bonus, I knew how to work it! The other day, Liza posted her 2010 photos on Facebook. The following photograph brought tears to my eyes as I saw my first real dance with my grown up son on the screen in front of me. That was a magical weekend for me and I thanked Liza then downloaded the photo. I wanted to share.

Courage, Tenderness & Compassion

I am sure I have written about the Heartstones before, but they are calling to me tonight, or this morning, depending on your schedule., so here I sit. To recap for anyone who may not know, Mom gave these to me on some occasion, probably Christmas, or my birthday; in what year, I could not say, but it's been awhile that these reminders of love have graced my life. I love this royal purple bag full of clay hearts. I pull three each time, and not everyday, probably more like three times a week, or when the mood strikes me...like I said, they call to me and they counsel me in such a gentle manner. More often than not, I easily identify why a particular word has come my way. Sometimes when I pull a clay heart out of the bag, I say, "Hmmm, that's interesting.", and those are the themes I concentrate on most. Willie and I often pull them together, and if I am puzzled by an idea that comes up, he can usually point to something that's going on with me right on the money. He gets me, what can I say.

Tonight when I pulled Courage, Tenderness and Compassion, a calm comfortable feeling washed over me like water and I am compelled to share this. I know exactly what these three things mean in this moment. I hear loud and clear the message I have just given myself by asking what is my purpose today. What do these words mean in your life right now?

This is the current state of my little alter space, and I almost pulled out the photo of me, then looked at it and remembered that was the end stages of Raymond Avenue, when I was in a state of peace about all that was happening. Done trying to figure out why and just being with whatever was in the moment. I found it recently in a book when I was transferring shelving and I stuck it up there. As I looked at it tonight, I found myself thinking, I am so glad I am outside the bars.

Then I cracked up and pulled Courage, Tenderness and Compassion.

Yes, I am way outside the bars. Just being. Allowing the Universe to show me the way. Believing with every cell in my body that all is well and as it should be. Looking at myself with Courage, Tenderness and Compassion can only improve what is already pretty groovy. It's a wonderful life, and it's mine.

Have a fabulous day, I am sending you love with every breath.

Love

The reason to develop a capacity for empathy, and then exercise it regularly, is that only a heart strengthened by this kind of understanding can effectively deliver the oxygen of the spirit: love.

—Martha Beck

That love is all there is is all we know of love.

-Emily Dickinson

Energy can neither be created, nor destroyed, it can only change from one form to another.

-The first law of physics.

This is what I will be thinking about today.

Care to join me?

What ever you do, may each breath be filled with love spilling out into the world.

Have a great day!

Winter is Here

Once it snows, there is no more denial that Winter is here. But who cares about winter, I live in a damn cute house!

The Blue Truck

I love my little blue truck. She has served me well these past ten years, and I have tried to take good care of her too. She got new tires, just in time for the snow.

So she has a few bumps and bruises, but hey, don't we all. The engine is top notch and that is what is most important.

I realized how close I was coming to turning over 100,000 miles, so I had to take a picture in case I missed it while I was on the road....this was Friday morning.

Then Willie and I were out shopping Friday night after midnight. He was driving and I asked him what the mileage was...we pulled over to take a picture with my phone....and watched it turn over as we drove Thanksgiving dinner groceries home.

Thank you little blue truck for taking me where I need to go.

Have a great Day!

Bacon Cheesy Beans

Bacon Cheesy Beans are a favorite with my children, and a classic for me. I used to call them Dad's Beans because this was the refried bean recipe he taught me. The kids began calling them Bacon Cheesy Beans and this name is known among all the boys who ate in my house over the years. Lots of bacon, refried beans, lots of cheese and in Dad's original recipe one would add green onions. My children did not like onions, so I excluded this ingredient for many years, occasionally I would add them on the side for myself, but generally not, because I would not eat a whole bunch of onions by myself and what a shame to waste so many. Well, today I made Dad's Original Beans, with one fresh onion grown in my yard and it was the best darn burrito I ever ate, can't wait to eat another one tomorrow.

Life is good.

That Martha Beck...

...she got me back on the blog, lol

Cheerfully fessing up to our failures turns crazy mind off, humility and compassion on.

—Martha Beck, O Magazine- August, 2005

For some reason these words really struck a chord and I wanted to share them with my blog reading public, if there still is one, lol. Been thinking alot about blogging, but then I go dig something up instead. Winter is upon us here in Reno and I am racing the snow to prepare the yard. I have turned over all the garden beds, moved two rose bushes, so Bill could create the strawberry patch. Strawberries come back year to year, and we have quite a few good plants, so we decided to put them all in one place.

In the front I created borders in the grass and planted 180 tulips, daffodils and hyacinth. Willie, bless his heart began the tedious job of removing the dead hedge near the front of the driveway. We were working in the yard together, and he asked me what I wanted him to do next. When I looked at the hedge, he just shook his head, and I said it was cool if he was not up for that job on this particular day, we laughed about it and he disappeared into the back yard through our newly created door which we love! It was a beautiful day and we had the windows open and Eminem's new album playing in the background. After a few minutes had passed and I was back at my work on the border, I heard Willie walking down the driveway singing, "I'm not Afraid, I'm not afraid, to use an axe, to use an axe." You'd have to hear the song to get the full effect, but I just cracked up. After we laughed for a minute, he took that axe and demolished that hedge in about half an hour. I was thoroughly impressed. Then he dug the roots and turned the dirt. The next week when I went to finish the planting it was a breeze. Now we can see the rock wall to the flower bed next door, and I will line all the borders with rocks to tie it all in, yes, I know I am obsessed, but my goodness, I am having so much fun.

Here is the rock pile I have pulled out of the backyard. Soon to be moved to the front borders.

I can't wait till spring.....

Have a wonderful day.....

First Time @ The Beach

Oh, how I wish I would have been there to hear the giggles, see the toes in the sand for the first time, and delight in the glory of a baby at the beach....next time. Lucky for me Fran sends me photos,, thank you, thank you, thank you.....

A Picture...

...speaks a thousand words.

111 Years Old

Working with money is a dirty job, but someone's got to do it. We have strict deposit instructions, no more than .99 in coin. I used to send all the one dollar, and half dollar coins in my deposit along with really old and worn out bills, then I was introduced to the deposit rules. That was awhile back and now I know. As a result, most of us buy the coins just to get them out of the drawer. I have quite the collection of gold & silver dollars, Kennedy half dollars, and such. Once someone tried to cash in a $2 bill signed by her dead mother. As she told me the story, I handed her two dollars out of my jar and told her to put it in her pocket. I do my best to maintain a professional relationship with work people. As a rule, I never give or lend money to the customers. But she got me with that story, as I happen to have a two dollar bill given to me by my mother the year they were issued, and would never consider spending it. Well, I suppose that is evident by the fact that I still have it 34 years later, and some of those years two dollars made a difference. I wondered later if she signed it in the parking lot before she came in, and now, no matter what the story, I just take the money.

The other day, a regular came in and said, "Can I have a paper dollar for this?", and dropped a coin in my hand. It was cool and heavy in my palm and I looked at it as I opened my drawer. When I saw that it was a 1899 silver dollar, I asked her if she was sure she wanted to spend it. Her response was, "There's a nick in the wing.", as she took her paper dollar and headed for her favorite machine. I never even put it in the drawer, replacing the paper dollar I had just given the customer with one out of my pocket. I carried it all night long and thought about how long it has survived in the world; how many transactions it had been a part of; how long it sat in a coin collection somewhere; how it got a nick in the wing.

I feet special to have become part of the journey. I called Mom to see if Nana had been born in 1899, but no, she was born in 1898 -- pretty damn close though, right?


Wishing you magical moments...have a great day!

The Corn! The Corn!

Life

Shoe Emergency

Last night at work, I was humming along nicely around 7pm, thrilled to be on day six of a long week headed to three days off starting at 12:30am. The store was busy, I had about ten players and after work cigs were selling well. I came around the corner coming behind the counter and my right shoe felt like it was falling off. I thought my shoe lace had come untied. I bent down to deal with it and found the entire rubber sole of the shoe was disengaged from the leather upper, save for the area around the toes. Bummer. That's when I looked at the clock and thought, in Phoebe's voice, "ohhh noooo.", I'll never make it. I rushed to the office and attempted staples, which I had little faith in, but I had to try...and rubber bands. Two steps and I knew this would not work. I had a momentary flash of panic, then I took a deep breath and called Amber, left a message. Called Jenn, didn't bother leaving a message. Called Willie. In the ten plus years I have known him, every time I have called him in need, he delivered. Every time. He got a ride with a kid across the street who has adopted us and brought me my Danskos within the hour. In the meantime, my other angel, Amber called to see what I needed. She has also never failed to answer my call, bless her great big heart. I was happy to tell her she did not need to interrupt her evening. History tells me every day it is a waste of time to worry about anything and I am not alone on this journey.

When I got home, Willie and I laughed about it and I told him the story of my high heel breaking on the cruise to Mexico in 1995. I had been thinking about that trip as I dragged around my flopping shoe till Willie and Tyler arrived to save the day.

I took these pictures this morning. Not sure why they loaded sideways, but I like it.

Have a wonderful day!

The End of an Era

Well, the use of Kraft Marshmellow Creme jars as drinking glasses in my kitchen will soon come to an end. As one can imagine, they are glass and break eventually. Generally, the same break near the bottom of the jar, a sign that it is an old jar and time to purchase some more. I have six jars left on the shelf. I went to purchase some more the other day and found my beloved glass jars had been replaced with plastic. I have looked all over the city to see if I might find the last remaining glass jars on the shelf, but no. I cannot express the depths of my disappointment.

The View This Morning

Ahhh, Summer

It was a cool 85 today. I am shown here gettin' a little plant love this morning before going to Farmers Market, where, by the way, they sold bunches of sunflowers for $6.00. Uh, I didn't have to purchase any, and mine, well, yeah they are much bigger. Life is good.

Look at Me!

Yesterday this bluebird danced in the front window, sat on the porch rail and sang until Willie got up and opened the door to take pictures. I swear she was posing for the camera. I told Willie she was thanking us for all the sunflower seeds. I am hoping she brings her man for the next photo shoot.

My Sweet Corn

I can't even think about this corn with out a huge grin coming across my face. I have corn, I will plant oh so much more next year, but for now, I love this corn. Needless to say I have taken a ridiculous amount of pictures of my beloved corn from which I will spare you.....here are a few.