Rolling with the tides.

My goodness, nearly a year and a half between posts does not bode well for readership, does it?  Sorry about that.

Since my last post, wherein I said that I moved away from my chosen home to my birthplace home, my darling spouse and best friend passed away.  Death is a mean ol' bastard and takes a lot more than he gives, so selfishly, I've crawled into a hole.

But that death has afforded me some graces, including being able to move back to the West Coast.  So, I am back in my precious small town and making the best of life and rebuilding myself as a single person after 15 years of partnering with the best human I could find. 

I know life isn't just rough for me, I know you have your challenges too.  At the very least, the economy is a challenge, most of my friends are dealing with heartache, or health issues, or deaths of their own.  I suppose it's comonplace in our stage of life - which is a little bit older, hopefully a bit wiser, graciously a bit more grounded.

One thing that this grief has given me is an outpouring of friendships.  Some are short term, blessings for awhile and then it's clear that the comfort we can give each other is temporary.  Those are the hardest for me.  I've recently had to let someone go who I thought I'd been a comfort to but as it turns out, that wasn't the case.  I'm finding that for my own sanity, letting go of the idea of a specific type of friendship has been helpful.  I'm also finding people who were friends for a time have resurfaced and really want to continue and deepen a friendship, which pleases me to no end.  Those seem to grow slower.  I'm happy with that.

I don't really have a point today.  There is no overreaching thought to this post, just that I am here, alive, breathing, and growing.  Surviving and thriving.   

too long... again

I'm sorry, dear friends. Lots of changes here. Moving across country, closing my house on the coast, closing the business on the coast, reopening my house in the mid-west and restarting the business - which is still in progress. There have been some interesting blessings through this time of change and I am vigilant to be aware of those. Some of those things are recognizing the gifts that friends bring to you, things you never expect and find delightful.

A few years ago, one of my lovely internet friends - who is expecting twin treasures - turned me onto Rob Brenzey Astrology. Filled with humor, imagery and good thoughts, Rob interprets what is happening in the stars. Even if you aren't into astrology as a tool to prognosticate, sometimes reading that someone sees good things for you is helpful. So anyway, the point of all of that nattering on is that Rob's note came out today. Just made me feel good about things, so I thought I would share with you, gentle reader:

"Cancer: 'Sometimes nature seems more beautiful that strictly necessary," said physicist Steven Weinberg as he admired a hackbery tree stoked with blue jays, yellowthroated vireos, and a red cardinal. You may find yourself thinking similar thoughts in the coming week, Cancerian. From what I can tell, life is primed to flood you with simple glories and exotic revelations, with signs of eternal splendor and hints of sublime meaning, with natural wonders and civilization's more interesting gifts."

Amen. Let's go with the flood.

Holy!

I love my mom. She informed me that this winter has been the snowiest there in a long while, and I believe her. Totals according to the internets put seasonal totals at 75 INCHES. Oy.

So - my mom arrives in my small town on the coast of Oregon on Sunday. Aparently, we're thinking of her - we got some of the white stuff... and it's quite rare here. Hopefully, there will be snow left when we wake up, because it's pretty dark now. I got one useable shot. Here you go mom, we're rolling out the white carpet for ya!

Love in Nature

I am still not sure why it is that when you walk on the beach you notice a reoccurring theme. Some days, all I see are green rocks, or red, or agates, or jadeite. This walk was just after the spouse and I were talking about some heavy stuff late last week.

We were both out with our cameras, so I wandered a bit on my own. I had wanted to get a good photo of the starfish you can see at low tide and the tide was starting to come in. I got a pretty good couple of images:

But I kept noticing all of these hearts. So, in honor of the day where many of us express our love, I wanted to share these with you, my friends. Maybe we are friends from birth.

Perhaps we've been friends from childhood or early adulthood.

It could be that we've only interacted thanks to the web, snarking and/or general affection.

Perhaps you patronize my business, or I patronize yours,

And maybe we've just had a meeting of minds wherein affection blossomed,

There is love for you, here. Affection for the you of you from the me of me, and the natural world that binds us.

Especially if you are going through some tough stuff right now and for the foreseeable future,

Know that you are loved today - affectionately by me.

In the end, it's all for you. My Best Friend. My Love.

Sunset at Face Rock

It speaks for itself, doesn't it?

These images brought to you by The end of January and the letter: W

W stands for Wet Wool, aka: my socks

January Warm-Up

We've been experiencing a warm and sunny January here. I've got my doors and windows open and the smell? Ah, the smell is of Spring.

Many of my friends out East and in my home state (Minnesota) are experiencing cold and/or snow and I'm walking around in my flip flops. It's not fair, really. (Please excuse my gleeful laughter.)

Now for the few photos. The baby seals are on/near the beach this time of year while mama goes into the deep to fetch lunch. On our walk the other day we saw a sweetie. They are not at all interested in being seen by us humans, and I sure don't blame them... but I am glad we get a glimpse or two.

I hope you are enjoying your January. Snow or not, cold or warm, you are alive and that's a pretty awesome thing.