I think this says it all...

Long time coming

It has been "a long time that went real quick," as my father likes to say. There have been more sparkly moments than you can imagine in the past few months, mixed up with some hard times and some sad times and some trying-to-figure-things-out times. I think I'll start with recent sparkliness and work my way backward in time, until it reaches that point where I really left off in the middle of August.
So...
On Sunday, which was yesterday, Nancy and I decided we needed to be out under the blue of the sky and amidst the bounty of color and crisp sunlight. We were planning to head up Mt. Sugarloaf, but it seemed like everyone else planned that as well (Mel Gibson did recently do some filming up there), so we took the road less traveled. It led us around and up and down and it was a lovely walk. Sated with woods, we walked again, a short drive away, by farm lands and interesting geological formations and stopped just short of nearing the river just beyond the low crest of trees. I need this. I never remember how much until I'm out there breathing the air and using my muscles and looking at tree after tree, stumbling on roots, listening to the birds and wind. I am lucky I got married to someone who never forgets how much she needs this, and gets me out there -- often just in time.

Who says hooping is for little girls?

Not this man! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3oKylueUgU. So inspiring!

But then again, there's this kind of hooping, which you probably have to train for starting at the age of two, and you might HAVE to be a small woman (if not a little girl!):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztXmzMvSXZ0&feature=related

Don't try this at home! Wait a minute...do! Well, maybe just a little around the hips to start!

Oyasuminasai (that's Japanese for "Go to Bed!")

I've definitely got to get myself back into sparkley mode, and I am planning on a more regular publishing pattern. However, right now I am very much in need of sleep and wish that I had someone to sing me to sleep like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCnAjel02lM.

You never know what kind of impression you've made...

Dear Charlie sent me this video today. Apparently she's obsessed, and I can understand why!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adYbFQFXG0U
Love and love and more love to all of you who have impressed me so deeply.
I send big LIONY hugs!

UU Haiku and Limerick Birthday Madness

This will take some explaining, but first I should apologize for the sparkle delay. I've been very busy, and it will take some catching up. I've got a backlog of sparkle! This sparkliness is from two weeks ago, a couple of days before Bill's birthday. Bill is one of the UU Dinner Group members that I have the good fortune of seeing approximately once each month. This group, which includes Cathy, Karen, Jan, Pat, Nancy, Lee, and occasional guest appearances from Helena, two of Lee's kids, Sue and Becky, the Hawkins's family friend Grace, and not infrequently the impish spirit of Roger, who left us at the age of 94 for adventures of a different kind, was supposed to meet only three times, but has now been going on for about 12 years! I was a late addition at almost eight years now! Most months we have themes, such as South East Asian food, foods beginning with the letter "B," things like that. This month, which also happened to fall two days before Bill's birthday, which is also happens to be Bastille Day, we had to write a haiku or a limerick about the dish that we brought.

See if you can guess what we served:

1. Appetizer:

Bread goes round and round
tasty snacks spiral inside
yum, yum, on my tongue

2. Vegetable:

There once was a bean named green
That made a very bad scene
Swimming up and down
In a boiling pot, drowned,
to surface as tasty cuisine.

3. Where's Lee's moving haiku?! Lost in the fray? Do you have a copy, Lee?

4. Main dish:

Waves churn, current flows
Water and sand surround us
Our white flesh tastes good.

(Alternate last lines:
"...upon death we swell."
"...so please eat us soon."
"...please leave us alone.")

And of the lettuce we never ate:

On our patch of earth
Lettuce grows in abundance
So grateful we are.

5. Dessert:
Red, blue, white create
From stem, grain, and cow a treat
Bliss is on the plate.

(If you haven't guessed this one, these limericks will give it away.)

Strawberries hail way back to Rome;
Shortcake often claims Europe as home.
But around eighteen-fifty,
We said they're both nifty,
And on top let's spread whipped cream like foam!

Shortcake parties are quite the tradition,
But tonight that is not quite our mission.
Happy Birthday to Bill;
He's not over the hill!
In our group he's a much loved addition.

Bill has the same birthday as France
There's a flashlight inside of his pants.
You may hear him mutter.
I need all this clutter;
He's so funny he makes us all dance!

The picture at the start of this email is what Bill looked like after the reading...
and then he pulled a flashlight out of his pants!

Since we had a couple of guests for this dinner who weren't cooking, we got the following additional haikus. (I think I'm still missing a couple, so look for future posts, which will include these.)

Peaceful, calm, quiet
Waves lapping gently to shore
Six ducks gliding by.

And here's one that sums up this dinner group experience:

Never forgotten
Good food, laughter, and support
Circle supper friends.

On one final note that shows the spirit of the dinner group, Cathy started a Choose a Caption contest for the picture above. Here are the entries:

"Oops! I wished to be old enough to drive a car but I didn't think I would get this old!"

"Oh my gosh! What have I gotten myself into???"

Bill's well past sixty
if he holds his breath this long
won't make seventy

"Oops, I think I sat on the ice cream." (Bill's very own)

Thank you to the UUs (and non-UUs) of the group for all the sparkly moments!

What's the Buzzzzzzz all about?

Ms. Helena sent me this video today, and it hit my sparkly spot, so here's something funny that addresses a not-so-funny topic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7m5vt07W2n4. What a way to get a point across! Naturally this reminds me of the movie Stomp the Yard, a movie that fascinated me so much that I actually bought it (I own maybe four movies). You can watch the trailer or the final dance scene (if you don't mind a spoiler). I can't get enough of this kind of dancing! What do you think of it?

Listening again, and hearing more

I got an iPod a couple of months ago to celebrate losing 25 pounds; this was a gift that I thought might encourage me to keep moving. And it has! It is a great enticement to go for a walk when I think, "Hey, I can listen to Brandi Carlisle for 45 minutes." Which is exactly what I did today. The most amazing part about this new headphone -- excuse me, ear bud-- experience is that I'm actually listening to the lyrics of the songs I've been playing for years without doing that. I might vaguely know them or sing them unconsciously, but mostly I've just been listening to rhythms and sounds and the feelings behind the lyrics. Which is kind of strange for someone like me who loves words so much. I'm falling in love with music all over again, and everything I listen to feels richer and deeper than it did before. Maybe part of it is giving myself so fully to it. When the sound is going directly into your ear like that, it's hard to avoid it. This just reminded me that many years ago, 25 to be exact!, I listened to a Duran Duran song (listen here) that I loved on headphones, while lying on my bed for a nap in the summertime. I heard that John Taylor was singing harmony in a voice so low, I couldn't hear it on my speakers! It was so amazing, like a little secret that I discovered.

I'm thinking that maybe if I keep this up, I'll learn to listen more carefully to the beautiful people in my life. Maybe I'll discover new layers and elements and richness to their words and their stories. Maybe I can do this for myself, too. And maybe you can do it for you, too...

(PS This image is from someone else's blog: http://creativebits.org/taxonomy/offtopic)

Dancing...with the belly (and other parts)

Last night I took a belly dancing class at Inspirit Common in Hadley. it was amazing to stretch and to move my body like that. I took a few lessons over 10 years ago, but I wasn't ready to celebrate my body the way that belly dancing insists you do. I think I'm ready now!

If you'd like to take classes, they're on Monday nights at 7:30 and you can find out more about Inspirit Common and the classes they offer here:
http://www.inspiritcommon.com/yoga/felicia_mcneill.shtml.

This is not a picture of my teacher (in fact we had a substitute--who was great--so I haven't met the regular teacher yet). I just found it on the internet and thought it was beautiful (I'm having a recent desire to be surrounded by pink -- I think this happened to dear Charlie a few years back), AND it just happened to be of a teacher in Santa Cruz, where I lived for a couple of years. Here's a link to this teacher's website, you know, just in case you ever happen to be in Santa Cruz and feel like taking a belly dancing class:
http://saharbellydance.com/bio.html.

Our inventive ancestors

Nancy, Helena, and I went to the Smith College Art Museum on Friday and saw some amazing photographs by Jerome Liebling. I didn't like all of his work; in fact, much of his nature photography looked like someone altogether differnt took the photos. But his portraits are unnerving and beautiful and capture rich stories in still moments.

Nancy was reminded (by something she saw in another exhibit) of a painter who would travel the Mississippi by boat many years ago, painting the landscape as he went along on long scrolls, which would be shown to audiences interested in the development along the river. Well, I had to find out more about this, and I found something from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moving_panorama) about moving panoramas -- so cool! John Banvard sketched images along the Mississippi and then painted them onto a scroll billed as three miles long (although it was really only about half a mile long, but still!). Then I found some information about the 360 degree panoramas that preceded this art form (http://newman.baruch.cuny.edu/digital/2003/panorama/new_001.htm). When I was telling Summer and Angie about this earlier today, Nancy and I both remembered a circular room that had a film projected all the way around (this was at Disney World); Nancy had fire trucks racing at her, and I had a bunch of covered wagons coming at me.

In any case, it's interesting to think how awe inspiring those things must have been at the time. And now, when amazing special effects are a dime a dozen, the novelty of these old fashioned moving panoramas might just seem remarkable all over again...

Thank You, Cherries!

Nancy loves sour cherries. And she loves making art. And today she loved making art using local sour cherries, the first of our bounty from a local farm in exchange for Nancy's artistic gifts (oh, the perks!). These cherries reminded me of the delectable cherries (among other things) painted by Giovanna Garzoni that Nancy introduced me to. Nancy, on her last trip to Italy, went to the Uffizi with a postcard of Garzoni's work. Well, let's just say that six museum guards later, she was finally directed to a dimly lit room that housed her work. And, evidently, it was worth the effort! Sweet! I mean...

For some, there is no choice

Prospective Immigrants Please (Take*) Note

Either you will
go through this door
or you will not go through.

If you go through
there is always the risk
of remembering your name.

Things look at you doubly
and you must look back
and let them happen.

If you do not go through
it is possible
to live worthily

to maintain your attitudes
to hold your position
to die bravely

but much will blind you,
much will evade you,
at what cost who knows?

The door itself
makes no promises.
It is only a door.

--Adrienne Rich
*I'm not sure if "take" is in the title -- can't find my book
that has it. 

I loved this poem the first time I read it. What it has come
to be about for me has to do with the experience of going
into the foreign country of my own self-- the deep and
sometimes dark places. I used to think that it was "better"
to do that, and now I understand that, as Rich says, it is
possible to live worthily without that. Still, I believe that I
have no choice in the matter. I went through that door a
long time ago. When I meet others who choose to go
through that door, I feel more understood and more
connected and I remember why I'm there, even when
it's not so comfortable.

The power of imagination...

...and creative problem solving will take us to new heights, as it did Kent Couch, who had a dream and made it real. See what he did (if you haven't heard already): Wow!

As you plant, so shall you behold

Some seeds, tiny in my palm years ago, given with the caveat "they're old, they probably won't grow" have blossomed again, for the fifth year, after being planted in my little herb garden. I gave them the Kathy Watson (a special kind of landscaping boss) blessing: Grow and be strong! Grow they did, living up to their name, butterfly weed (Nancy just followed the flight of the butterfly to capture this moment). This plant is also known as pleurisy (inflammation of the membrane around the lungs) root -- and my lungs do seem to draw deeper breaths each year when the gorgeous orange of her flowers brighten the backyard. Come visit them!

Get out of town

Weep not that the world changes -- did it keep a stable, changeless state, it were cause indeed to weep.
William Cullen Bryant

Today, in the early afternoon, I said to Nancy, "Let's get out of town!" Well, her face lit up and within five minutes we had figured out that we'd be heading to the William Cullen Bryant Homestead in Cummington, a place neither of us had been, although Nancy had heard about the old growth forest there and had done a drawing of the main house many years ago. Click here for more information about the homestead. It was a beautiful drive, and after a stroll through a sloping meadow, we entered the cool quiet of the woods, following the Rivulet Trail. The stillness there was a richer stillness than I've experienced before in any woods (at least during the first part of the hike), and Nancy was taken with the small white flowers and red berries that dotted the myrtle-like foliage at the foot of these hundreds-of-years-old trees. An hour later, we emerged from the forest a little sweaty, heads swimming with poetry (there are a couple of poems by Bryant there in the woods), and deeply satisfied with our adventure.

A gift

Today I had afternoon tea with a new -- and already dear-- friend who shared of herself with me. Not only was that a gift in itself, but she showed me how, in situations that would test the strength of the most steely willed around, she remained standing and persisted with her dreams. I was deeply touched by her story and wish that I could find an adequate way to express my admiration.

In lieu of that, if there were a radio station that I knew she listened to, I'd ask them to play THIS SONG (not really a video, but you get to listen) and dedicate it to her.

As they say, Ms. Fizz, don't let them in!

Whoa.

So, today I received a forward from my mom of a clip from Ellen DeGeneres's show, and it really blew my mind. What an amazing world this is! It's good to remember that things don't always behave as expected! See for yourself.

Holy Capoeira!

Well, lucky me, I got to see K this weekend before her Southern home cookin' fest this weekend, and one thing we talked about was Capoeira, which she has been doing for the past year. I decided to look it up online to get a visual after her descriptions, and I mostly found videos of men. So, I added "women" to my search and this was one thing that came up: Watch this!
I realized how hungry I am for images of strong women doing things you don't normally see women doing. I think I'll try to add to this collection.

Image is from: http://www.capoeira-connection.com/main/content/view/173/83/

A Cure for What Ails You

Well, so, I was looking at a hooping site, and caught this, and then couldn't figure out how I found it, so I looked it up on YouTube and got it with a few key words and it made me grin and grin: WATCH NOW! (I'd tell you more, but it's just so great to see this with no introduction.) Then, when you're done, visit this site to learn more about how and why this deliciously celebratory video was made...tell me what you think!

Sweeter than Candy

As I was talking to my dear friend Kendra this evening, I heard a strange sound in the background. "What was that?" I asked her. "A sugar glider," she replied-- nonchalantly I might add. "What's that?" "A marsupial that's smaller than a chipmunk." Honest to goodness, I thought she was making this up (she has been known for such creative whimsy), and all I could picture was one of those toys on wheels that you put on a wire and let slide back and forth balancing with weights on either side. Well, this "made up" creature has a name, Honey Face, and Kendra, seduced by the cuteness (see for yourself) brought her home this past weekend. Considering the slightly cooler reception of Peter and the potential mutiny of the older and larger animals in the house, Honey Face may need to find a new home. I just have to say that I love Kendra for her love of little creatures and for this utterly spontaneous act, which, despite her tremendous capacity for the fantastical within her mind, is usually one of my more practical friends (except maybe when it comes to shoes...and now maybe small marsupials). Thanks for expanding my world!

PS This video is quite fun! Makes me think of the Bjork song they use in an entirely new way!

Ahhhhh, las palabras!

Barbara Wallraff, who has regular features in the Atlantic Monthly (now -- probably for a long time, but I can't keep it in my head-- called The Atlantic), pleases me to no end with her investigations into words and their meanings. Here is a link to a little bit of information about her and some archived material from The Atlantic:
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/by/barbara_wallraff

Here is a link to a recent Word Court exploration into the expression "cut to the chase":
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200804/word-court

And a recent issue's Word Fugitives:
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200805/word-fugitives

Enjoy these, all my word-loving friends!

The Happiest Feet of All

This is a two-post kind of Sunday. After all of my pirate-knight adventures, I came home to a cat-that-caught-the canary grin on Nancy's face. This is what she'd been up to all afternoon...

Sir Henry the Adorable...and his mother, the Keeper of the Castle

I spent most of today as a knight, with occasional forays into piratehood -- all under the tutelage of 3-year-old, Sir Henry. His mother also bore the cutlass he handed her, as she shared her wisdom and journeys of her soul. There's nothing like a small pirate-knight to put things in perspective.

A friend to howl with

Sometimes a friend to howl with is all we need: feel free to join in!
(This is a tribute to Nancy's favorite childhood friend, Mike.)

Oh, just a wee smidge of dancing inspiration...

This is probably the best dance sequence ever captured on film. I've watched it maybe 20 or 30 times and never tire of it. Nancy and I had the pleasure of meeting Fayard Nicholas a few years ago at the Soul to Sole tap festival in Austin. (He was a wee bit older then.) Summer, I hope this inspires you for your performance tomorrow night. We can't wait! Click here if you're ready to have your mind blown.

Courage and Light

Yesterday, Nancy and I, for our four year anniversary, went to the Mt. Holyoke museum. There we saw an exhibit by Janet Fish (which was supposed to end June 1st, but lucky for us it was still running). As Nancy said (to paraphrase) after the show, what an amazing way to spend one's time -- thinking about light. And indeed Fish does. Here's a link to more of her surprisingly large paintings: http://www.artnet.com/artist/6229/janet-fish.html. So, when in doubt, think Fish! I mean, light!

And, today I was reminded by the immense courage of Ms. Summerly the Fabulous of some wise words by Chogyam Trunpa (I'm pretty sure). He said that courage does not mean being with out fear. It means being afraid and doing it anyway. You did it anyway, Summer, and I am so proud of you!

Expect the Unexpected

This link will take you to a short clip that reminds me that sometimes what appears to be dangerous or scary, can turn out to be something, well, not so scary or dangerous. And you might just make a friend in the process. Here's the unexpected.

Ah, such grace...

If only I could handle the unexpected this gracefully....
What do you think of this?

If you're gonna fall, fall like this...

Ah, there's nothing like the sound of ripping paper!
Watch this and be prepared for all eventualities...

In the synchronistic flow

Soooooo....I was talking to Summer on the phone last night and I hear Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds playing in Helena's room. Surprised, I ask her about it, and she tells me it's a Leonard Cohen cover. Well, then I see that on the same cd is a a cover of Hallelujah chorus by John Cale (I think). I listen and think, "That's not as good as the cover that Sonya put on that mixed cd she burned a couple of years ago (this is Jeff Buckley's version)." Within minutes, my cell phone rings and it's Sonya! So, then I get to thinking about Jeff Buckley and remember that his father did the original version of a favorite This Mortal Coil song (Song to the Siren). Then, for whatever reason, I think of Teardrop by Massive Attack, which I've always loved (but just found out that it's Elizabeth Fraser from another favorite band, Dead Can Dance, who sings on it). Recently I heard an absolutely amazing cover of this song by Newton Faulkner.

Well, here's to some of my all time favorite songs, and the way all things are connected. Sometimes when we show up and pay attention, the universal pulse leads us in amazing directions.

The Wealth of Massachsuetts

We are so lucky to live in this amazing state:
Can you believe this?!

And, as Nancy wrote to me, this is what happens when you watch The "L" Word!

Totally Addictive

Click here for one of the weirder things I've seen.
And I can't stop watching...
(This is all Kendra's fault! Her love of hedgehogs led me down this twisted road...)

The Church and the Winehouse

What an unlikely combination, but oh so much fun!
Visit the church and the winehouse...

First Crushes

Well, why not start with early inspiration?
Click here for a glimpse of a sparkle maker!
After all, you've made it this far!