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!