Wednesday, May 26, 2010

MAKE!

I'm going to make an acorn necklace
because I think it is a nice thing to do.

Jeremy and I bumbled around in the woods looking for perfect acorns yesterday, and would you believe it? They are harder to find than you would think.

That's why we decided it is a nice thing to wear a necklace about it when you find one. Because they are rare, like four leaf clovers.

When I was little I could never find those and my brother could which upset me. So I picked multiple leaves and held them together at the stem and pretended. "Look Mom! I found a SIX leaf clover!"

"Oh, let's put it in a bag to keep!" she'd say to me at which point the game was over because you can't keep a six leaf clover in tact in a bag. Only in your hand.
(you can do it too! )


Furthermore, I'd also like to try to make these shoes.
This could be even trickier than finding a whole acorn or a four leaf clover because I'd have to come up with my own pattern. But I feel up for the challenge because - look how cute!

Finding shoe soles is a[whole]nother matter though.

I'm on a hunt.
Who knew crafting could be so adventurous and thrilling?

(You may purchase these shoes here.)

Friday, May 21, 2010

oh thing that consoles

how clumsily i thank you
for kind homes in which to rest
for waking with friends
for breakfasts in bed
for clear minds and attentive reading
for the peacefulness of rain
for food that satisfies and treats my body well
for the invisible man humming behind the wall of mailboxes
for feeling like a misfit among the scientists
for peace, peace, peace
and a profound sense of being at home

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

the Kogi Indians of tropical South America believe
that when an infant begins life
it knows three things:
mother, night, and water.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

dogs are for teaching kindness and gentleness

and that in spite of your doubts, perhaps you are capable of loving some good, warm being outside of your own

but sometimes they stop. the breath and the heart first, and then the warmth follows.

and so we and our mothers pick out places in our backyards- nice, thoughtful, shaded ones near the lillies we've taken from house to house. our fathers patiently lean against their shovels and wait.

my own father digs until his back is sore, walks back into the house in dirtied jeans, crouches under the table placing his measuring tape against the length of the cold body's back, and digs some more. four feet long. bigger than he remembered.

we wrap him in a yellow blanket. everyone takes a corner. the tongue lolls out of his mouth, eyes roll back. but he's still sweet, i think. his limbs have stiffened, however and he seems heavier. somehow. as if the life that ran away, left a heavy weight in its place.

we lower him gently. first a eulogy brought to us by mary oliver : "love, love love/then, go to sleep/give up your body heat, your beating heart/then, trust"

a few more words and a closing prayer given by my father about creation and goodness and if there is a doggie heaven please save a space.

dirt is sprinkled. ashes to ashes. dust to dusted. and we stand and watch as my father carries on filling up the empty hole. he avoids covering the face, until at last, he has no choice, and then - gently. very gently.

after the service we return to our home. we sit at our table and eat our ham on bun.
and no one comes running when a pickle drops to the ground.

Monday, May 10, 2010

summer `10

is here.
and reminding me to be in love with the world for all its many possibilities.
especially the green grassy farmlands that i drove through last night
and the unfolding of pink sky that some poet once cleverly named as "steeping"

because few listen to what happens here, this will mostly be a practice place for the summer
where i write shitty first drafts and bumblings without much thought to my audience. (sorry - but it's for the better for now)

so, if you're here, welcome. i'm glad.
i'll try my best to show up regularly as well.

here is the news i want to share with you:
my dear professor, Doug Frank, from my fall semester out at the Oregon Extension just published a new book called A Gentler God: Breaking free of the Almighty in the company of the human Jesus If you click the link it will give you more information about the book and you should also look at the reviews., brought to you by people like : brian mclaren, debbie blue, rob bell, and david james duncan.

I suspect that it will be great.

yours, LLW