Sunday, December 30, 2012

less wrap-up adventure


less page

I'm always amazed at how the energy shifts with the winter solstice. It just feels like a fresh start. And while I'm excited and ready for a new year (and a new word!), I also want to express my gratitude for a year of LESS.

One lovely development of LESS in my world this year has been taking only one online class. I love taking online classes. This is definitely one of the fabulous things about the internet. However, as an Enneagram Type Seven, they all sound amazing and I can forget that I really don't have that much time to devote to them. So usually I sign up full of great intentions and excitement and reality hits along the way and I'm well gone by the end, full of regrets and remorse.

With that in mind, I signed up for one year-long class with monthly assignments: One Little Word with Ali Edwards. Wow! What a great class. It totally kept my word alive for me all year and the combination of photography and writing assignments was perfect for me. There was just the right amount of structure and freedom. Needless to say, I've signed up for 2013 and am excited to spend New Year's Day working on my January assignment...

little word album

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

holiday adventure


wreath bliss

Hope your holidays have been peaceful and pleasant! Rodg and I have enjoyed a few adventures ourselves this weekend. From a hike down to the river (and back up!) on the aptly-named Challenge Trail, to a dusk photo shoot of the lovely holiday lights at our little local library, to a Christmas Day church service (!) and completely delicious Twelve Tastes of Christmas brunch, we've had a pretty delightful long weekend. I'm looking forward to more adventures in 2013!

challenge trail

river view

happy rodg

holiday lights

church welcome

union station tastes

Friday, December 21, 2012

solstice adventure


solstice sunset
solstice sunset 12/21/12

While I'm always delighted to welcome the sun back after the solstice, this year I find I'm not fighting the dark as much. I think I'm starting to see the charm that Wendell Berry describes so beautifully here:

To go in the dark with a light is to know the light.
To know the dark, go dark. Go without sight,
and find that the dark, too, blooms and sings,
and is traveled by dark feet and dark wings.

Sunday, December 16, 2012

journey adventure


journey

These dark days before the solstice always put me in a reflective mood. As I look ahead to a new year, I also find myself looking back. What has 2012 been for me? I chose the word LESS for the year and in a way it has been a year of less. In the physical sense of the word, I managed to clean out many cupboards and closets, in part thanks to a wonderful organization called Turnip Green Creative Reuse, which accepts donations of materials that can be re-used by artists. And on the personal front, I chose inner and outer priorities (inner: playful, open, and true; outer: exploring things deeply, spending time alone, and spending time in genuine connection with others) and have tried to make decisions about the use of my time and energy with these in mind. On the other hand, I've been blessed with a lot of cool experiences!

One fun thing this year has been being an audiobook judge for the Audies. My category is books narrated by the author(s) and one book I really enjoyed that I normally wouldn't have picked up is Regis Philbin's How I Got this Way. He finishes each chapter with a little wrap-up beginning with the phrase "What I Took Away from It All". I loved this organizational device and thought I'd borrow it for my 2012 wrap-up here. Here are the big things I experienced in 2012 and "What I Took Away from It All" - hope you enjoy!

Albert Hadley - Working on Mr. Hadley's exhibit pushed me way outside of my comfort zone, but it was a huge gift to be able to spend time with this incredible man at a very challenging time in his life. He taught me so much about beauty and graciousness and I'm deeply grateful for the experience and connection.

Body Adventures - An awesome addition to 2012 has been my practice of getting a weekly massage with Julie - she's fabulous! I also got way into Marie Manuchehri's book Intuitive Self-Healing, and really all things Marie Manuchehri! Definitely hoping for more Marie in 2013!

Road Trips - I love hitting the open road and was so lucky to have a wide variety of road trips in 2012, from Opeth and Mastodon in Knoxville and Atlanta to Anne Lamott also in Knoxville and Buck Brannaman in Huntsville, each of these trips was a unique adventure! More, more!

Eckhart Tolle - Allowing myself to get into Eckhart Tolle was a great part of 2012. I can be so resistant to sort of "mainstream" things that I can definitely miss out. It is actually amazing that Eckhart Tolle can be considered mainstream. Really working with his teachings actually does feel deeply ordinary and yet completely revolutionary. Definitely want more Eckhart in 2013, too.

Retreats - At Jon Bernie's spring retreat this year I couldn't help but notice how much I love retreats, especially the structure and the silence. While there I discovered that the Birmingham Shambhala Center had announced dates for Levels 4 & 5 and the timing finally felt right to finish up the Heart of Warriorship series. Add a weekend at Joe Zarantonello's peaceful Loose Leaf Hollow and this was a practically perfect year of retreats. I've already got plans for more in 2013 as I continue to follow my spiritual bliss...

Travel - Although the number of trips I took this year might not seem to fit with the theme of LESS, I think it is the LESSness of travel that I love. I get to bring just my favorite things along with me. I'm out of my usual environment, with its usual distractions. Travel really distills my world down to the present moment. And it was awesome to get to see so much of my family in my travels this year, although I'm definitely missing some of the dear folks I didn't get to see. Looking forward to more time with family in 2013 for sure!

Squam - What an amazing experience to be back at Squam this year! It is always so powerful for me. I loved getting to catch up with my cabinmates after 2 years and see what's happened in their lives. So many good things. Heck, I even made something this year. But I'm also excited to see that Elizabeth is shaking things up for 2013. She's such a dear and amazing woman and it's a pleasure and inspiration to get to experience all the good things she brings to life as she comes more and more into her own true self. Love it.

So, pretty great year, eh? And 2013 feels like it holds even more magic and possibilities...

Sunday, December 9, 2012

radiance adventure


moon light

Hymn to the Nameless One
By Dorothy Walters

Now as the year swings down,
and the darkness encloses
even the smallest bird,
the largest animal,
and we too enter the hour
when everything is falling once more
into the twilight
of not knowing,
what we ask is that
you be with us,
not as a pillar of fire
nor a blaze across
the heavens,
but like water
at rest in a pitcher
which catches the morning light
and is filled
with its own radiance.


Sunday, December 2, 2012

mary adventure


waiting

Just back from a wonderful weekend away to hear one of our favorite musicians perform (and Rodg even got to interview her on Saturday afternoon!). Mary Halvorson's quintet played last night at the Wexner Center for the Arts on Ohio State University's campus. We flew up on Friday evening and back this evening and had tons of fun in between. It was the perfect last trip of 2012, which I believe we kicked off in April with our Mountains & Metal weekend. Over the next couple of weeks I'm planning to look back over 2012 and share insights about this past year's adventures - stay tuned!

Sunday, November 25, 2012

freeing adventure


happy fall feet

It has been a lovely Thanksgiving weekend, after a bit of a rocky start on Wednesday when I ran into some roadblocks in obtaining some essential food items for the weekend. I guess in past years I've gone earlier in the week, but I was completely blindsided by the insane parking lot and hour-long line to pick up a HoneyBaked ham and turkey breast - only to discover there were no turkey breasts left. I did track one down on the other side of town, so all was not lost, and I even got some good audiobook listening in. Still, it rattled me.

But we had a delightful Thanksgiving Day, complete with lots of fresh produce from our farmers - such a treat! There's something very relaxing about just spending a day fixing one dish after another, with plenty of time for a nap. And then eating all of that delicious food with my sweetie!

A fun thing about my volunteer gig with the Contributor is that my shift is on Friday afternoon, so this was the third year that I was lucky enough to spend the day after Thanksgiving serving my community, which is something I'm very thankful for. And you'll be happy to hear that everyone we spoke with had enjoyed a delicious Thanksgiving meal, whether they're currently or formerly homeless.

Yesterday was the second time that a dear friend from work and I have offered a holiday drop-in craft program on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It's so fun to see people of all ages making art together. We call it a "craft buffet" and just put out all kinds of supplies - jingle bells, googly eyes, pipe cleaners, pom poms, felt, cloth, papers, stamps, stickers, magazines to cut up, glue, glue sticks, tape, crayons, markers, coloring pages, etc. You should see the amazing things people make! This year we partnered with Turnip Green Creative Reuse and I even pulled some things out of my closet, so I'm hoping it got folks thinking about making things as gifts for the holidays and repurposing things they might find in their own homes.

So having been able to experience pampering, service, and creativity this weekend, I woke up this morning aching to get out in nature for a bit. I'm so lucky to live near a beautiful park and it was a gorgeous morning for a walk. There's something so powerful for me about the feeling of walking on a trail. It helps me get back into balance. My mind stops racing and enjoys taking in the sights and sounds. My feet love walking on the earth.

berries

favorite spot

sun and bales

pink leaf

I've also been enjoying wonderful birthday gifts this weekend: Moonrise Kingdom and A Monk in the Inner City (thanks Dad and Katie) and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Pema Chodron's Coming Closer to Ourselves (thanks Mom and Steve)!

Sunday, November 18, 2012

stuck adventure


fuzzy legs

(Photo of my legs by my dear nephew, Tobin)

Sorry for the silence from over here, but I find I'm a bit stuck on the blog front. On the living front there's been lots of activity - a fun trip to see dear family, birthdays, reading and enjoying lots of amazing input from the universe - but when I try to figure out how to express it in a post here, it's eluding me. I guess it's all too big to be summed up - no one heading captures it all.

Fall has traditionally been a hard time for me. I really dread the short days. But lately I've started to see the gift it offers, the invitation to slow down and bring one's energy inward, to take stock of the year's activity and perhaps set an intention for the new year. It can be a time to treasure the more subtle pleasures of life and I must admit I'm ready for that.

One of the lovely gifts this fall has brought to me is Anne Lamott's newest book: Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers. What a jewel - small and packed with classic Annie goodness. And here's a video that dear Camille shared with me - with Cheryl Strayed no less! And one exciting tidbit is that Ms. Strayed (aka Sugar!) is going to be at the library this spring. Truly my cup runneth over!

Saturday, November 3, 2012

wayne adventure


This was a Wayne-filled week! On Wednesday, I had the great good fortune to attend a day-long creative summit - Nash-Up: Remixing Nashville's Arts, Culture and Creative Future. The keynote speaker was artist Wayne White, who I hadn't realized was from Nashville. You may know him from his work on Pee-wee's Playhouse, or the new documentary about him: Beauty Is Embarrassing.



And on Thursday I received the following video in my email, about Wayne Walden - one of my absolute favorite Contributor vendors. See if you can make it through without getting at least a little teary. What a dear man.



And let's throw in another favorite Wayne! Wayne Muller's message of enough is one that always inspires me. Enjoy!



What's showing up in your world these days?

Saturday, October 27, 2012

shambhala adventure, part two


Avondale Park

Level V of Shambhala's Heart of Warriorship series is titled "Open Sky" and is described as: "Communicating with the world gently and fearlessly, our awareness is sharpened and we find the open clear sky of mind — a delightful source of wisdom and uplifted energy. We trust our nature enough to let go into the present moment." While I loved the weekend, I will admit that I found this pure awareness form of meditation a challenge.

On the other hand, I feel like I do know this open state of being and spend a lot of time in it at work at the reference desk. My experience in working with the public is that the more open and in the moment and free from preconceptions I am (and the better sense of play and humor I have), the more I can connect and help my patrons with their various needs. I especially love the wide range of humanity I get to serve, which truly brings out the best in me, so when we were chatting in the discussion group about our challenges with the meditation I mentioned my experience at work and playfully said, "Bring me a homeless person!"

We broke for lunch and I headed over to V. Richards where I got this amazing meat and three trio of salads:

V. Richards' meat & three salads

Yes, that is a salad of chunks of avocado, tomato, cilantro, and feta. Needless to say, amazing!! I'd been tipped off about a beautiful park in the area, Avondale Park, so I wandered over to enjoy my salad and take in the gorgeous day. The weather was perfect - bright blue sky and sunshine with a refreshing mild breeze. Since I wasn't familiar with the park, which is in an urban area, I found a table in an area with plenty of other people wandering about, right next to a busy play area.

I dug into my delicious salads, savoring the food, the beautiful day, and the sounds of happy families at play. And that's when my morning "wish" came true, in the form of a homeless man named Moses, who came and sat at my picnic table with me. We chatted about the lovely day and he told me about the history of the park, which once housed a zoo. We talked about the challenges of living in the park and being homeless. I could tell that the people around me were initially a little concerned about me, which I appreciated, but Moses didn't give off any kind of dangerous vibe and while I was attentive to him and my surroundings I felt very comfortable.

In the course of our conversation, we laughed about this and that, which seemed to put people at ease. And it was so helpful to really consciously be in that state of openness that I seem to find so easy among my homeless friends - they do an amazing job at opening my mind and heart. I was able to see how I might try to have that same interest and curiosity and attentiveness about my own mind and awareness, which I was able to take into my practice that afternoon.

It truly was a gift to get that time with Moses, plus he kindly took my leftovers from my oversize lunch off my hands (in addition to a little money for some food of his own). As fall sets in, he is definitely in my prayers - his is not an easy life.

The ceremony that afternoon was beautiful and so heartfelt. I'm very grateful to have fallen in with the perfect group to finish up these last two levels with. And now I even have a pin to prove it! For Kath's benefit, you can see it here on my wall of favorite things, under the Lojong slogan card: "Be grateful to everyone." And I am.

favorite things

Saturday, October 20, 2012

shambhala adventure


fan flower

I'm posting this from the road in Birmingham, AL, where I'm finishing up Shambhala Training's Heart of Warriorship. This five-weekend series of meditation workshops is often completed in a year or two, depending on one's proximity to a Shambhala center, but I started in 2006, so it feels pretty amazing to actually be this close to "graduating".

I've wondered lately what's brought me back to Shambhala, after having been away for about five years. And honestly, it's out of love and respect for the man who founded this tradition and poured so much of himself into creating this very series of weekend workshops: dear, brilliant, infuriating Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche.

When I took the Bodhisattva Vow in 2007, I told the teacher giving the vow that I would be finishing the Heart of Warriorship. It has always weighed on me that I haven't done so, mostly because of the deep love and debt I feel to Chogyam Trungpa. It is especially meaningful to me that when he was alive other senior teachers led Levels I-IV, but he led Level V. In fact, the book The Great Eastern Sun is comprised of his talks for the various Level V groups he instructed. So this is for you, you amazing holy rascal! Thank you for everything you did in your lifetime that continues to resonate and help us to create an enlightened society. I will do my best to live up to it.

"The Education of the Warrior"
by Chogyam Trungpa

That mind of fearfulness
Should be put in the cradle of loving-kindness
And suckled with the profound and brilliant milk
Of eternal doubtlessness.
In the cool shade of fearlessness,
Fan it with the fan of joy and happiness.
When it grows older,
With various displays of phenomena,
Lead it to the self-existing playground.
When it grows older still,
In order to promote the primordial confidence,
Lead it to the archery range of the warriors.
When it grows older still,
To awaken primordial self-nature,
Let it see the society of men
Which possesses beauty and dignity.
Then the fearful mind
Can change into the warrior's mind,
And that eternally youthful confidence
Can expand into space without beginning or end.
At that point it sees the Great Eastern Sun.


fall reflection

beautiful birmingham shrine room

fallen

Friday, October 12, 2012

buck adventure


Buck Brannaman clinic

Way back in early February, I signed up to be a spectator at a Buck Brannaman Horsemanship clinic near Huntsville, AL today. This may seem to be a little out of character, but then again I did go to a couple of heavy metal concerts this year, so clearly I'm open to trying new things in 2012. But actually, having seen the beautiful documentary, Buck, I felt that his message of kinship with one's horse is completely applicable to many other areas of one's life, including one's relationship with other people and with one's own mind. In other words, horse whispering skills extend far beyond horses.

The initial weather forecast for Friday called for beautiful clear skies, but as the week progressed it looked like Nashville would get some early morning showers, so I wasn't that surprised when I was awakened around 3 this morning by thunder and lightening. However, when the rain was still heavy at 4:30 I started getting nervous. Looking at the daily forecast for Huntsville, the prediction was still for decent weather, but it seemed to me that the storm I could see on the radar map was heading straight for it. Undeterred, I headed out at 6AM, in the dark and rain.

The weather made for a somewhat hair-raising drive out of Nashville, but once the sun came up and traffic thinned out, it felt great to be on the road, off on an adventure and game for whatever would happen. Plus I had the delightful audiobook company of Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez reading their memoir, Along the Way.

It was still raining when I arrived at Harvest Farms, where the event was being held. As I pulled onto the soggy field to park my car, I got stuck in the mud a couple of times, which left a little nagging feeling in the back of my mind about potential trouble leaving this afternoon. While we were initially directed to a dry barn where several picnic tables were set up, word came that Buck was down on the field and would be holding the morning session outside, in the hope that the rain would be breaking up soon.

Luckily I had my umbrella with me, which was much more than many of the other spectators had. I created a little zone of dryness, snuggled up in my chair purchased especially for the occasion and thankfully incredibly simple to set up, as I was taking it out of its bag for the first time. I loved hearing what Buck had to say to the riders about the importance of creating boundaries for the horse to stay balanced within. He said that if a horse can find this sense of balance, they are centered and feel relieved and content. I also enjoyed his description of working with a horse with a lot of energy. The rider wouldn't want to just exhaust the horse, but should put that energy to good use, to see the energy as a gift, not the enemy. All of this seemed very relevant to how I could work with my mind in my meditation practice.

I'm pretty used to feeling like an outsider at many of the events I attend. This summer I was on an India kick after having seen The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and went to what I thought was a talk by Amma Sri Karunamayi that turned out to be a rather lengthy blessing ceremony, attended mainly by people dressed all in white. Even at the Level IV Shambhala training session in Birmingham, I was referred to as "the new girl." I don't really mind it. I was the new girl, the outsider, so often growing up. And deep in my heart, I really do feel very connected to all of humanity. But I knew today I was going to be out of my element once again.

So I know I came off a little funny when the woman sitting next to me asked me something about one of the terms Buck was using and I said flat-out that I didn't know anything about horses. My directness may have even come off as somewhat unfriendly and defensive. So when she seemed almost offended, I realized I needed to allow myself to be a little vulnerable and I said I felt that I was really there for my meditation practice. And right there, the deep connection opened right up. Practically with tears in her eyes, she said that when she'd first learned about horse whispering techniques she realized what a better mother she could have been, how she could have been present with her children in a different kind of way. Instead of getting laughed at, I was welcomed into a moment of shared understanding and humanity.

After a couple of hours I felt like I'd gotten what I wanted out of the experience. It didn't seem like the rain was going to let up and I was getting increasingly nervous about getting my car out of the soggy field. And my premonition was quite accurate, unfortunately. But once again, I was treated kindly by the other attendees and a small group pushed my car out, laughing as they were splattered with mud, encouraging me out of the lot and away. "Don't stop!" they cried, and other than making a quick visit to a highway rest area, I didn't, until I arrived at the welcome home port of Lemongrass Sushi and once again felt that love really is all around.

yummy panang curry

Monday, October 8, 2012

artober adventure


poodle book

Here in Nashville October is Artober and boy, did it take over our weekend! Between the wonderful activities of Handmade & Bound and the Soundcrawl, plus an informational session for NaNoWriMo that I needed to go in to work to help host and a record show for Rodg, this was not the usual hanging out at home, spacing out weekend. Very nourishing for the soul, but I think it's still going to take these homebodies some time to recover...

Saturday, September 29, 2012

mindful adventure


Every day
I see or I hear
something
that more or less


alabama
kills me
with delight,
that leaves me
like a needle


chandelier
in the haystack
of light.
It is what I was born for -
to look, to listen,


here
to lose myself
inside this soft world -
to instruct myself
over and over


orange of my soul
in joy,
and acclamation.
Nor am I talking
about the exceptional,


companionship
the fearful, the dreadful,
the very extravagent -
but of the ordinary,
the common, the very drab,


tiny blue beauty
the daily presentations.
Oh, good scholar,
I say to myself,
how can you help


revealed
but grow wise
with such teachings
as these -
the untrimmable light


steeples? or wizards...
of the world,
the ocean's shine,
the prayers that are made
out of grass?


fall profusion
~ "Mindful" by Mary Oliver, from Why I Wake Early

I hope I can be forgiven for quoting all of "Mindful" here. Normally I would just quote a section of a poem out of respect for the author, but, well, I just couldn't help myself. Plus, it's up all over the web, but whoever put it up first missed the second "I" in "I see or I hear," so they all seem to have it that way, and having heard it the right way on one of Mary Oliver's recordings (and verified it in my copy of Why I Wake Early), I just had to fix that. Seriously, it changes the whole rhythm of that section, right?

This poem has been wonderful company for me lately. I go through spells of memorizing poetry to try to keep my mind agile, since I'm hopeless at crossword puzzles and electronic brain games make me nervous. Mary Oliver's poems resonate so deeply with my soul, I love to have several memorized to recite when I'm surrounded by beauty, like today on Cheekwood's sculpture trail, or just in my daily wanderings. You can only imagine how excited I am about her new book of poetry, A Thousand Mornings, coming out in October! [Also, if you live in the Boston, NYC, DC, or Milwaukee areas, she's doing readings this fall. I'm keeping my fingers crossed she adds some dates within driving distance of Nashville...]

Saturday, September 22, 2012

annie adventure

program

So the magic continued this week. While at Squam, I received a lot of encouragement from Marie Manuchehri about the role of writing in my life. You may have noticed that I love to go places and do retreats and attend workshops, so of course I spent the first part of my week back Googling different writers and teachers and seeing what classes and workshops they offer. It isn't lost on me that I could have been using that time to actually write, but it was great fun to explore and dream about the Sun magazine writing retreat and Natalie Goldberg and Susan Piver's workshops out west.

And then on Wednesday morning I woke up and couldn't get dear Anne Lamott out of my head, even after I got to work. So I did a quick search just to see what her schedule looks like these days. Imagine my amazement when I saw that she was to speak that very evening in Knoxville, of all unlikely places!

It just seemed unthinkable that she would be in Tennessee and I wouldn't see her, so I called the church that was hosting the event and when they said they had a few tickets left I found myself buying one, cancelling my afternoon obligations, texting Rodg who I was sure would think I'd either been kidnapped or possessed, and figuring out which bus would get me back to my car in time to be in Knoxville by 6:30pm EDT.

If you ever have the opportunity to hear Anne Lamott speak, I strongly encourage you to do whatever it takes to get there. Even a six-hour round trip drive melts away in her presence. Her topic for the evening was the search for meaning, and mixed in with stories about her son and grandson, writing, and Jesus, she talked about the power of letting go of perfectionism, deeply accepting one's own "neurotic, screwy self," and connecting with people to whom you can say anything.

She told a beautiful story about a scene in the documentary From Mao to Mozart (now streaming on Netflix - guess what I'll be watching this weekend) in which Isaac Stern tells a young Chinese girl, "Sing it to me" after hearing her play a piece technically beautifully, but seemingly without emotional connection. I loved her description of the importance of having people in your life that you really honor and trust and who say "Sing it to me." And how you find that you can and that you can pass it on.

The talk ended around 9pm and it seemed like the prudent thing to do would be to skip the booksigning and hit the road, but when I exited the church it was like a Grateful Dead concert had let out - people streaming out to their cars and total gridlock - plus I didn't really know exactly how to get back onto the interstate and was happy to let traffic die down. And, with so many people leaving, all I could picture was Anne Lamott sitting by herself in the church basement. So I called Rodg and he encouraged me to stick around.

It might have been smartest to go look at the line first, but I was high on the experience and relieved there were still books to buy, so I got myself a copy of the classic Bird by Bird, feeling like it would be a good totem for my writing life, even if I think we have another copy somewhere in the house. When I made it to the front of the line, which actually had been quite respectable and Anne was looking pretty exhausted, I told her a quick version of how I'd had her on my mind all morning, found out about the talk, and driven from Nashville on the spur of the moment. In classic Anne Lamott style she replied dryly, "That God is such a show-off."

amazing anne lamott

Thank you Anne! I'm ready to take your advice, to be in the holy moment, to carry a pen with me at all times, to write what I'd like to come upon, and to write badly so I can write something good. I can't wait until you come back to Tennessee again someday!

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

squam adventure


path flowers

This is what I want to say about Squam:

early morning dock

I love this place - the land, the lake, the trails, the cabins, the trees, the list goes on...

brae cove from lake

I love the people - dear friends, new friends, amazing, inspiring people all around...

dock with amazing cabinmates

I love the workshops - the support, the challenge, the processing, the integration. Intuition and Creativity with the lovely Marie Manuchehri and Earth Art with the equally lovely Penny Dullaghan was the Perfect Combination. And yummy Gentle Yoga with another lovely woman, Michelle Madden Smith, was the icing on the cake!

proud artist


release acorn swirl before


release acorn swirl after

I love the food - two words: Breakfast. Potatoes.

arthur's way

I love looking forward to it and I love the after-effects - how it resonates and ripples through my spirit long after my return home.

airport moose

Thank you, dear Squam, and all the incredible people who move mountains to create this space for us. I am so grateful.

Saturday, September 8, 2012

indeterminacies adventure


indeterminacies

The highlight of the week was most definitely Rodg's amazing performance at Zeitgeist Gallery with our dear friend Sam Byrd! We had been looking forward to the evening for months and months, which made it almost surreal when the day finally came! And we were definitely not disappointed. As you can see in the photo, Rodg got to play a real piano, which was very fun and of which he took full advantage. Unfortunately, Sam is pretty well hidden by his drum kit, but you can see another wonderful friend, Stan Link (in white), who is a local composer and professor and who moderated the talk - he did an awesome job. How often do I get to be compared to Yoko Ono? The standing-room-only audience seemed to really enjoy the evening, which included lots of great conversation. (And you may also notice a surprise element. Event organizer Lesley Beeman thought it would make it even more interesting to invite some dancers to come do their thing - and to keep it a secret from the musicians... Ah, chance elements!)