Things to look forward to

Fall brings changes in color and a busier pace.
I have three photos in the Joshua Tree exhibit at the UCR California Museum of Photography. I'm humbled they were selected (but I like them too).
I'm taking Michelle to see X tomorrow night at the House of Blues.
Doug is taking me to see Heart, America, and Suzanne Vega shortly thereafter.
I find myself missing Joshua Tree. Hopefully we'll get there for a weekend in October.
Stephanie is adventuring in the Pacific Northwest.
I will take the holidays in stride this year
I will stay out of the stores.
For in that way lies stress.
Yay for gift cards.
Life is good.

March 07 peach march

I love this picture.

Summer's ending

LOST IN TRANSLATIONS

Students seek classes they need for graduation
teachers seek enrollment for job security
Different purposes bring us back to school.

The holidays will follow with pumpkins and ghosts,
turkeys and stuffing
and men in red coats.

Hungry merchants will beg for our dollars
unintentionally dishonoring Christ's life.
How does this reflect us who revere his birth?

Each December my budget won't allow it
still I spend what I don't have, starting the New Year behind
like a prisoner shackled to the barrows
a slave to time
a slave to procedures
a slave to expectations

"This year will be different" is my silent vow.
Gift cards pervade the marketplace now.
Like a key they unlock my shackles and worry
I don't have to engage in a shopping fury.

So I offer them thanks.
Thanks be to the gift cards.

My gorgeous husband

I love looking at you, honey.

Pat Trudeau is my cousin. She is a GREAT painter in NY.

View from her porch while she vacationed in Bali. I love this painting. Pat sold it of course before the paint was completely dry.

http://www.terra-borealis-works.com/

It's up to me, dude.

I want to live there!

My husband jokes with me that everytime I go somewhere I say "I want to live here." If I was rich, I'd buy a place in each of these spots. Then my family and I could travel back and forth whenever we feel like it. A bit of desert, a bit of forest, a bit of ocean, a bit of mountains, and lots of fresh air. Art and music too of course. Lots of that, and family.

Yarnell, AZ. I'd move there in a second for obvious reasons.




















Florence, Oregon
The air smells good, the people are friendly, and time slows down. Who cares if it rains a lot, look how gorgeous it is! I mean, the moss freakin hangs from the trees there! Oh the green......ahhhhh. So pretty.





















Yes I do......




















Joshua Tree, California
The vibe inspires me, the boulder's are sand-paper'y, and artists live there. Sometimes I like it hot.




























And of course, where I currently live isn't bad EITHER! So I am happy with what I have....until retirement at least. Heck maybe Doug and I will just travel the country in an RV for the rest of our lives, after we retire....starting in 2018.

The most fun I've had in my entire life.

Hot Couple

The Tenth Annual Fantasy Masquerade

Labyrinth of Jareth

Los Angeles July 2007

Jonathan in the Sky
Joshua Tree, April 2007

The feeling of returning home, in June 2007

GOING HOME

Going back to the land above the smog
the land we grew to love
The place where we came from

Going back to the land where we belong
where the lizards and bunnies roam
The place that we call home.

Tujie 6/07


I wrote that poem when I returned my daughters, pets and I to our humble home in the hills, last June. I don't know why I had to write it. I don't know why I wonder why I had to write it. My kids tell me "Mom you use too many words to explain things." Maybe that's why I had to write it. It narrowed down all the crazy thoughts churning around in my head. Maybe I wrote it to settle me down. Maybe that's why I always have to write poems. I haven't written one since I wrote that one. So maybe I'm feeling calm now. I did spend a couple hours yesterday, however, journaling my trip to San Francisco, which was so rich in detail and serendipity (and fate?) that I dared not risk remembering it all. I wrote it down so I could relive it again, and again.

My dad died

My dad died Feb. 24, 2007. He would've been 84 on March 9th. Here's his obituary. An extraordinary man and father, I think I'll cry forever contemplating.....he's gone. But he's still alive in my heart. I work at a college which started a scholarship fund in his memory. The Dr. Charles F. Ehret Science Scholarship. I'll contribute $10 a month to the fund ad finitum. $500 will be given each spring if there is a worthy applicant. It's easy to contribute through small monthly payroll deductions. Call 951-222-8676 and ask the Foundation how to set up a regular monthly contribution of $5 or $10 to dad's scholarship. It adds up! Thanks.

Long time no update!

Yesterday I received word from an old friend, "Ya really need to update your blog...sheesh!" Then I journeyed to view HIS blog, which is awesome by the way. And now I'm inspired to update MINE. Thank you for the gentle prod, Doug#1.