Sending Love to Shrine

Candles for Shrine. A Shrine of Candles.

Hmm.

Death is simply the other side of life, one big circle. I know that beings all around the globe are affected by death every day. Lately the veil between death and life has felt extra-thin in my neck of the woods, or more accurately, in my heart-circle.

Furry and feathered creatures.

Beloved pet Sasha Dog.

Today Sealion's uncle ended his painful struggle with terminal cancer.

May he rest well.

Right now

I want to focus all the healing intentions and warm strength to a man who has greatly influenced me and many many others, the Great artist and Wise man, Shrine. He was in a car accident, and the veil was pulled taught. I bet he even got a glimpse on the other side. Those who passionately adore him believe there is still plenty of loving and beauty for him to create yet in this time around.

Be strong, Shrine! Heal fully. Feel and receive all the love vibrations that we're all sending your way.

Let it knit you up.

Gratitude: Ten Things

best buddies chomping ripe pears at the farmers' market.

Inspired (yet again) by that favorite blogger SouleMama, I thought it wholly appropriate to follow my grump session yesterday with a list of Ten Things I Love. I think hers was Simply Ten Good Things, but I'm saying, Ten Things I've Loved about Here So Far, since we just moved to Corvallis, and I haven't gotten to share with you much. Because, as real as the rain is, I have real-ly loved so many things I've discovered about our new homeplace.

~ wood burning stove

~ the stereo that came with our rental house, including a record player and a large, eclectic collection of vinyl ~ such as my right-now-favorite new-to-me classic Joan Baez in concert

~ biking away from the farm where we picked up our fresh goats' milk, after getting to meet and pet the goats!

~ fantastic farmers' markets (such a welcome homecoming!)

~ ten-plus variations of green that can be seen right outside my morning bedroom window

~ abundant backyard apple (and pear!) sauce!

~ best friends who live mere feet away

~ rose hips

~ grape stomping

~ extensive almost-daily country bicycle commuting

Photos do not necessarily match the ten things, but are of things I've loved nonetheless. ;-)

concords ripe for the stompin'.

hi, neighbor!

exotic (to me) locals at the farmers' market.

abundant, mindfully produced, staples.

stompin' feet! actually covered with blackberry juice! we did both ~ grapes and blackberries from the yard, and the nearby field. our neighbors/commune-mates are making a hefty winter brew with them both!

a couple of the many gems we've found in the record stacks: classic-classics! what a find! the little dancer approves.

more harvest time treats at the farmers' market.

can you see just how loaded this tree is with apples?! it is only a representative of the abundance we have at our disposal in the yard.

wild rose hips and more wild rose hips!

blackberries

In Autumn

Oh.

I'm not ready for Autumn yet. Not ready for Fall, either. I'm trying to buck up about it, but today I'm letting myself be a little blue about it. I was not done with Summer. Oftentimes I am, but I feel like my battery was about ... 1/3 full of sunshine and warmth ~ even after our August visit to hot hot Baja Sur, and then to the hot hot desert of Black Rock City. Just gettin' started here, folks. Still fillin' up ye olde Sunshine Batterie after what feels like several years' lack. I've read my blogger friends bucking up and being cheerful about all the coziness of Autumn and then Winter. I'll do that. But not today. Today I'm dragging my feet as Mommy Autumn insists it's time to sleep.

And Oregon is serious about this tucking-in-weather. I hear it starts and then doesn't let up till ... July or so. And it has started. I asked my Oregonian friend how to cope with the onslaught of Autumn. He replied, "This place is famous for espresso, strong beer, and weed. Coincidence?" I don't drink much beer (I think my body is better off without it. Red wine sits much better with me, but even then a half-a-glass'll do me). Smoking more than occasionally makes me feel hungover and foggy the next day. And my nerves can only stand so much espresso, love it even as much as I do (and may the goddesses bless my dear family when I've gone over that line..).

I am making the effort to get out for a walk down our lovely country road every morning no matter the weather, to start the day by embracing the elements that be. I'm trying to remember to ramp up my Cod liver oil intake (for vitamin D, etc.). I'm also experimenting with a tincture of St. John's Wort (or, St. Joan's Wort, as my favorite wise woman herbalist Susun Weed calls it). (I can tell I'm doing well on the coffee and cocoa front, as evidenced by my abundant use of parentheses!) I also treated myself to a pair of luxurious sheepskin-lined shoes made right here in Corvallis (I said it: right here in Corvallis. Corvallis, Oregon) by a sweet little company of minimalist shoe makers ~ they call themselves elves :-) ~ named Soft Star Shoes, whom I am proud to promote.

Yes, we will be moving to Mexico in December (I'll try not to rub that in to Winter-dwellers too much..), but right now ~ today, as I look out the window at the thick soup of gray clouds and feel the chill nip at my toes as they curl urgently into the sheepskin, December feels a long way away.

Do you love the cool and gray, or merely tolerate it? How do you embrace it? What do you do to cope? And: What is the recipe for a "Hot Toddy?"

by the way, I realize it's time for me to change my little Intro Blurb over there to the right! Exciting!