Nearby Park

Sailing - Someday?

#591 - Carbon/Silicon - The News - My favorite song - of the moment. Maybe some lyrics will intrigue you enough to listen...

...People started growing, instead of being crushed
And people started slowing down instead of being rushed
And people started looking with very different eyes
And this information now comes as a surprise

Good morning here's the news and all of it is good
Good evening here's the news and all of it is good
And the weather's good!

People started calling those in power to account
And people started saying, "I want my voice to count"
And people started learning that they don't need to fight
And they control their future and try to make it right...

#582 - The Current Radio Station - for making the previous song a part of my day

#583 - Feeling Unmotivated to Run in Soccer (it was hot and we didn't have any subs), but then Staying for a Second Game

#584 - My Brother Read this Book - (I'm just starting it.)

#595 - Eating Lunch Under this Majestic Oak - the largest diameter tree I've seen in MN

Damn it Feels Good to Be Me

#581 - The music isn't my style, however any song with the premise/chorus - "Damn it Feels Good to Be Me" - is awesome

#582 - Noticing an Unfamiliar Cloud Formation. "Pocketed" is the closest word I can find to describe it.

#583 - My First Hummingbird Sighting that was not Near an Artificial Feeder

#584 - Flies Decomposing a Mouse Carcass - I recently read a book where they spoke about some desert region where there weren't any/many decomposers. Anyway, I don't usually appreciate flies, but when I saw them today I realized they were cleaning up.


#585 - The New 45 Parallel Marker on My Walk -and the map that showed other places at 45 degrees (like Turin, Italy).

Magical Powers

#571 - Completing a Cycle that began Spring Equinox 2006

#572 - How Beautifully This Hurried Picture Turned Out

#573 - Jean's Media Writing, Which Ignited This Passion....

When someone asked me why I didn't have a cell phone a few years back, I said I didn't want one. He asked what I did without it.

I told him that is always how it is with new technology. We find it hard to imagine life before, and then I asked, "Is what we gained worth what we lost?"

I think it is interesting that many people originally got cell phones for "safety". For example "if my car breaks down." Now they are a leading cause of auto accidents -

"According to the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society cellular phone distractions have caused 2,600 deaths and 330,000 injuries in the United States each year."

http://www.drivinglaws.org/stats.php

Then there is the whole environmental thing, 4 billion cell phones currently in use - where are they all going? My 17 year old cousin is already on her 3rd? 4th? and I doubt any of them got recycled. (I would be happy to be wrong about this.)

"Did you know that the average life span of an American cell phone is less than 18 months? According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency...in the U.S... 90% (are) thrown into the trash and only 10% reused or recycled...Cell phones contain hazardous substances such as lead, cadmium, chromium, copper."

http://mobiledevdesign.com/tutorials/cell_phone_recycling-1229/

Anyway, I pretty much have shut up about cell phones because obviously I am a minority (and also realize I am blessed because I haven't had a job that required one). But if I could make them disappear with a wave of a wand... Watch out when my Magical Powers come!

#574 - I felt my mom's presence a lot after she died...a few years later though I don't. However, the past couple weeks, she has clearly been hanging around. As further evidence - tonight my friend Jean sent the Mary Oliver Poem that I Read at My Mom's Memorial Service (wondering if I had heard of it)- The Summer Day.

Oh and I love this intro to the poem on the library of congress website -

"Today's poem holds that the act of attention is a form of prayer."

#575 - Not feeling very grateful and then Reading the Email from Jean With That Poem. I am going to read it again slowly right before I get off the computer,

Solstice

#561 - Unexpectedly Reading the Poem "Love Said" - I started reading a poem on the internet today without knowing the author. I felt a familiar beating of my heart, deepening of my breath. I don't have a favorite food or musician or color or book...(my favorites change or are many), but by the end of the poem I was not surprised - of course it was my favorite poet - Rumi.

#562 - Today in Yoga I had so many annoying thoughts. Then, I was reminded of an Affirmation I am working on which I shortened to go with my breath

I am Confident (in Breath)
as I Succeed (out Breath)

I returned to this again and again throughout class and it Anchored Me.

#563 - By the end of class my breath had deepened enough so I could say the whole affirmation.
"I am confident as I succeed at bigger and bigger goals."

I've had a hard time with the word 'goal' since I picked this affirmation last August. Goals sound like willpower, striving - biking into the wind.

But in the Peace that Surrounded Shivasana I could see Goals Differently. They Were Not So Much About What I Did, But Rather What I Felt

#564 - I love honoring the solstices. The event I felt drawn to this year is on Wed though, not actually on the Solstice. Then today in Elizabeth Harper's newsletter she said she was doing a telephone seminar to honor the Summer Solstice. So the Desire to Do Something Today Brought an Event to Me (at home) Without Even Trying

#565 - The Peace I felt listening to Elizabeth's Meditation/Visualization

Voices Wrapping

#551 - Last Summer a Farmer's Market Began within Walking Distance from Where I Live and It Is Back

#552 - Having a Dog (Molly) Walking Companion to the Market

#553 - It was sunny when I left, but getting close to the market it was clearly going to rain. Since I still had to walk home, I was going to get wet no matter what, so I just surrendered. I Felt Like a Super-Hero as People Watched Me Stroll Along in Search of Produce, Not Cowering for Cover or Even an Umbrella. In the end it was only a sprinkle, and I was dry by the time I got home anyway.

#554 - Laughing after Falling off a Hammock (I was warned about it, but actually when I figured it out on the third attempt it wasn't as fun).

#555 - When you take a risk in life it is like crawling out of your shell. In your shell it is safe and comfortable and warm. Why would anyone want to leave? But somehow, someway, there are things that draw us out. Once we are exposed under the sun we might want to run back in, to leave the uncertainty behind and rest in the familiar.

I just felt that way and then I went to the Brothers Frantzich website and Their Voices, this is not the First Time They've Done this, Their Voices just Wrapped around Me. Everything is Safe.

Who She Was Being

#541 - Raspberries in the Backyard Soon

#542 - A Woman, Very Peacefully, Walking Through a Row of Trees Outside an Office Building

#543 - If it wasn't for this blog I would have given the previous woman just a passing glance. But I kept looking at her since I was grateful to see her walk in an unlikely place. It was as if she were meandering through a forest, not an office park. Who She was Being - Changed What I Was Thinking.

#544 - Feeling Comfortable/Welcome Around My Friend's Parents (I am dog-sitting for them soon so they were showing me where the food was etc.) After explaining things they invited me to eat dinner with them and it felt easy and natural even though my friend wasn't there. I feel blessed by this relationship.

#545 - Being Offered an Unexpected Dinner

BWCA - EPA

#531 - Luckily I never cease to be amazed at the Synchronisiticies in life. No matter how many times they happen... Last week, my brother was trying to convince Mayu to go to the Boundary Waters with him. I've only gone on a canoe/camping trip there once, during college, but I pulled out my photos to tell/show her a little bit about it.

Today, I get a card in the mail from my sophomore roommate who went on that canoe trip with me. In this card was a photo of Lisa and I in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. Liz wrote, "I found this photo while going through a bunch of files last night. We took this trip 14 years ago!" So a week after I am talking about our Trip she sends me a Photo from it, which is the first time she has done this in the 14 Years since we went...Plus as I write this my brother and Mayu are in the Boundary Waters.

#532 - The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has determined that greenhouse gases endanger human health. (I wonder how much that study cost?) Now the agency must regulate pollutants under the Clean Air Act. Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski does not want these pollutants regulated. She introduced S. J. Res. 26 to stop the EPA. She needed 51 votes and got 47.

#533 - Because I took the time to look this up and write about it I also Called My Senators
to Thank them for Voting in Support of the EPA. (It is really so easy to do, I don't know why I don't do it more often. This is a habit I would like to acquire.)

Senator Al Franken
202-224-5641
Senator Amy Klobuchar
202-224-3244

#534 - Writing a Long Letter to Bonnie - Last weekend while writing a couple birthday cards I didn't have much to say. I thought, "I remember when I used to write really long letters." Then last night I couldn't fall asleep and I started writing one, and today I kept going...

#535 - This gratitude feels more like a public service announcement - getting my Credit Report. One of those things we are "advised" to do once a year (and it's free if you go to the correct website). I don't know that I really feel, grateful here, but I am glad I got around to it so I am putting it down.

11 Year Old Approval

#521 - Cloth Grocery Bags

#522 - - I debated between the price of organic and non-organic canola oil today. It wasn't principle that tipped the scale in the Organic Category, it was Habit.


#523 - My Dad's Friendship with His Neighbor Across the Street

#524 - I felt surprised and Honored to read this -

- "Hey Tammy i was reading your blog (from like the past few months you wrote) well its really good and i mean in interesting i think its really fun to read i spent almost a hour reading it all...

P.S. you should type some more graditudes on your website instead of journaling because i enjoy reading them so much" (Really?

Granted she is my cousin, but I can hardly believe she read all this. Thanks Ashley!)


#525 - Okay I had this post ready to go, but then I just read Jason Mraz's blog and he is talking about Slavery (so I had to dump a gratitude of much less importance). AMEN!

World Cup

#511 - This Plant Volunteering to be the Photo for the Day

#512 - We are so reliant on our hands, which we use for everything. I watched a World Cup game today and it was Beautiful to see people, in tune with their Entire Bodies. I mean what other Sport do you Physically use your Head as a Part of the Play?

#513 - Soccer being the Most Popular Sport in the World. It takes so little gear and is such good exercise .

#514 -Scott and Mayu inviting me to join them watching Free Outdoor Dance this Evening

#515 - Enjoying Many Similar Activities as my Brother and Sister-in-law

250 Spaces

#501 - That my 11yr old cousin called to Invite Me to her Softball Game (though she didn't know when it was :)

#502 - I didn't feel like leaving the house tonight, but I signed up for a Park & Rec Tennis League. Tonight was the First Match and it "Forced" Me to Get Out and Enjoy the Beautiful Evening

#503 - I'm grateful the tennis league is the Cheapest Organized Exercise I've found ($20 something) and it is only Two Blocks from where I live - so I have no excuses not to participate!

#504 - In this season of late light, after coming home I am Continuing the Practice I began while House/Catsitting - I am still mostly going to Sleep with the Sun

#505 - That I now have 250 Open Spaces without buying another photo album, because I had that many pictures I no longer want

No More Photos Today

#491 - Projects You Wouldn't Start if You Thought it Through - I had some photos printed today. My last album is almost full, but instead of getting another one I figured I must have a bunch of photos I no longer want. I just started going through my albums and pulling out photos. (I wasn't very discriminating with photos I saved in my teen years). Anyway, now I will have plenty of space. I know I would never have begun this if I had thought it through, but now that I've started I will continue

#492 - That I Listened to the Darkening Light and Stopped This Project, There Was No Way I Was Finishing it Today

#493 - My Poem Arriving at My Friend Jean's via Emily at Just the Right Time

#494 - Jill told me to read the Martha Beck article in Oprah magazine. I connected with it in a different way than she expected, but I connected.

#495 - Conie Reminding Me She Doesn't have a TV in her Living Room Either (or at all in her case)

Microbes and Music

#481 - What we focus on magnifies, and this is what happened when I designated May "The Month of Music." Originally my intention was simply to get together with 1-3 friends once a week (so 4 times) and practice/play the guitar (or ukulele) together.

Not only did that happen, but I also went to Tim Frantzich's house and played him my poems on ukulele with Peter's chords. (In retrospect I think this is a brave thing to do. I have such deep admiration for Tim's musical ability. It's like showing an Olympic gymnast that I've started doing cartwheels.)

Then I wrote my first songs on my own, lyrics and chords.


THEN I was asked to house/cat sit for friends who have a guitar, so I left my ukulele at home and I've been learning the guitar all week.

This morning I played the guitar and started Crying with How Can I Keep From Singing (which was the last song The Brothers Frantzich) played at my mom's memorial service, and then Laughing when I played Breathe Deep by Terry Taylor. I'd never heard of that song, but what fun.

#482 - "Once upon a time, wasn't singing a part of everyday life? As much as talking, physical exercise, and religion. Our distant ancestors, wherever they were in this world, sang while pounding grain, paddling canoes or walking long journeys. Nowadays We Tend to Put All These Things in Boxes.

Can We Begin to Make our Lives Once More "All of a Piece?"

Pete Seeger
Rise Up Singing

#483 - I heard about this on NPR today - for anyone who doubts the power of music -

"the head of a German sewage plant has introduced piped Mozartian music to stimulate the activity of microbes that break down waste." The Guardian

#484 - Car Talk Happiness - I have zero interest in how cars work. However I specifically turned on this show today because I enjoy it so much. The only way I can figure this out is that the hosts of this radio program are Doing What They Love and that comes through.


#485 - When Jill came over for dinner where I am house/cat sitting, she commented that it was nice to see there is no TV in their living room. I started thinking about it and, at minimum, my friends- Amy, Laura, Jill, Peter/Kaydee, Conie, Brooke, Liz, Geoffrey, and Paul All Don't Have TV's in their Living Rooms!

My Friends' Porch that faces West and Pulled me to Watch Sunsets this Week
(a bonus weeklong gratitude)

Fragrant Honeysuckle (2nd shot)

Canvasser

#461 - View while Washing Dishes at my friends' house thanks to their Neighbor - (the picture is taken through a window and screen so it doesn't do it justice, but check out the...)
#462 - Rain Barrel - their neighbor has attached to the gutters to conserve water and keep her beautiful flowers healthy

#463 - I saw someone coming door-to-door two houses down, my immediate reaction was annoyance. Then I felt surprised because I was sure it was a canvasser (not sales) and I used to work as a canvasser. I support what they do, so why am I annoyed? Anyway, I had a little time before she arrived to look in my wallet and Switch My Attitude. When she did I was able to smile and be supportive, not only with a little money, but an offer I know I rarely got but would have loved (the use of a bathroom). She didn't need it, but the Connection and Consideration made her Smile. Yeah Canvassers!

#464 - I stopped writing this to run into the room where the Wailin Jennys' Avila was playing. A few months ago I had this CD from the library and one day I started praying along with this song. Then I put the song on repeat and just kept praying.

Oh sweet peace, never have you fallen
never have you fallen upon this town
Oh sweet peace, when will you come calling
when will you come calling upon this town

I was visualizing parts of the world and sending rays of light. I was praying the way I imagine we are supposed to pray but usually we are too wrapped up in ourselves to be clear vessels. Anyway, I ran to this song because I was Reminded of the Moment I was a Clear Vessel. It didn't happen again today, but I am still grateful for the reminder.

#465 - The last two nights I went to bed with the sun. I didn't turn on any lights and just let the darkening naturally slow my body down for sleep. I didn't wake up any earlier the first day, but Today I Naturally Woke up at 5:30am. So for the past 24 hours I am Happy to be In Synchrony with the Sun.