SHADOWS ON THE WALL

my new friend and fellow blogger 

KEITH

posed the question of 

"your favorite summertime memory"

gosh I love you guys...you are such an inspiration to my 

little world

as I am obviously intoxicated on this "end of summer kind of day"

I ask Mr. PV..to fetch my camera

with the magic word of course!

PLEASE????

I have already missed the precious toad

that was resting here just moments ago

If I were a toad, ant or rolypoly,

this would be my chosen paradise

as the summer comes to an end

I can't help but be drawn in by the setting of the sun

earlier and earlier each day

and the shadows that linger here

*melancholy*

soon the umbrellas will be put away

tarragon you have served us well

adios

shadows on the wall

are you lavender ?

salvia?

or Texas Bluebonnets?

are you iron or copper?

are you Betty or Perrilyn?

whatever you are ....you will be back

yes...the mermaids will dive deep into the abyss

and we will patiently wait

for you and your brood to return

to our lovely branches

we will prepare

and hunker down

through the winter cold....

but....

wait.....

we aren't quite to the end just yet....

Hello Indian Summer

POPPY'S PERCH

When I bought this chair from Havertys MANY years ago, the clerk told me it would be 

the kind of chair

that would last a lifetime

the kind of chair that I would re-cover

again and again

well no

because this is the chair where I sit with Betty

and soon Perrylin

and others yet to be

to watch God's majestic nature perform outside our window

we come in from the garden or pool

and sit here to cool off or warm up

or watch the leaves and snow fall 

soon

it is faded

old

comfortable

and I like it just like it is 

it's located just at the end of the atrium

in its very own spot

the birds coo

the cocoons transform

magic happens

God's 

attention

to

detail

everywhere

yes...

God's attention to detail abounds

I think God is a fan of 

hats

ALL HASHTAG

I remember when my Mattie was in the 9th grade and I made a comment to her about emailing and how in the world could there be anything more than that? ( I was just coming down from a fax high.)

Her to me:  "Mom...the next thing is already here"

Me to her:  "What in the world could that possibly be?"

Her to me:  "It's called texting silly"

So now...we're all hashtagging and I can't help but believe that there is no way the symbol can be as important as the

in a url

or the 

in an email address

but it has certainly reached epic status and created a

 a paradigm shift

and you know what they say about a paradigm shift...

the greatest paradigm shift is 

the use of the words paradigm shift

so while all the hipsters are

####### ing

all over tarnation

(my grandmother's word for entire nation)

I can't help but wonder if the best use of

#

will be a 

on a couch

#incaseyou'rewondering

#doyouhavetimetocare

#what'sallthehubbubbub

#Hashtag#

A hashtag is a word or a phrase prefixed with the symbol #. It is a form of metadata tag. 

Hashtags first appeared and were used within IRC networks to label groups and topics. They are also used to mark individual messages as relevant to a particular group, and to mark individual messages as belonging to a particular topic or "channel". Hashtags' popularity grew concurrently with the rise and popularity of Twitter and may be tagged by putting "#" before important words

(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

#whoa

ROCK PATH

This weekend we (sort of we, mostly he)

had our backyard rock path project on the to-do list

does it seem to you like we always have a stack/pile of

something????

wood

tile

boards

sand

work

 in this case

1.  rock

2.  inspiration

3.  jawbone

4.  ManBeer

5.  Boundaries

6.  Man

Man...do we ever love those corners in a rock puzzle?

whew....one down

300? to go

no wonder that man has a 

man beer and swimtrunks

SMUDGING

Smudging is a ceremony in Native American tradition that cleanses bad feelings and negative vibrations from houses. Smudging may create a peaceful environment in your home or space and is done by burning specific dried herbs and letting the smoke float around the house. You can use dried herbs in a bowl or use a smudge stick to cleanse your house by smudging.

Tradition says that the oldest living member of your clan is the one who smudges your home AND gives you your Indian name.

My Uncle Gene gave me my name "RED BIRD" and smudged me during this ceremony and my mother came to 822 and smudged our home when we first moved in.  She let the smoke flow into each room and asked blessings from the North, South, East and West.  It was a very lovely moment to watch her do this for us.

When we travel to New Mexico, the countryside is covered in sage...so it is abundant for making smudge sticks.  These photos are from google but I do make my own...I thought you might enjoy the different ways you can make them.  It's very easy...you roll them up and tie them with string...and anyone can smudge... if you like that sort of thing!

add pretty flowers...don't these look so pretty?

I love the way lavender looks in a smudge stick

this also has sage...but fyi...they all smell like smoke when they burn...not fragrant like what's in them

they are so pretty just sitting around in a basket

AND

they really work...if you believe that  kind of thing!

what a lovely gift!

A smudge stick is a bundle of dried herbs. The leaves are usually bound with string in a small bundle and dried. Plants that are often used include sage, cedar, lavender, or mugwort.

The English term "smudge stick" is usually found in use among non-Indigenous people who believe they are practicing appropriated North American Native spiritual traditions. But the herbs used in commercial "smudge sticks", and the rituals performed with them by non-Natives, are rarely the actual materials or rituals used by traditional Native Americans. Using scent and scented smoke in religious rites is an element common to many religions and cultures, but the details and spiritual meanings vary with the specific cultures and ceremonies.

sometimes, when you have a bad day?  smudge

it can't hurt!

and in case you think it's only for Native Americans?

I'm not Catholic but I light prayer candles all the time