Powdery Freshly Fallen Snow + A New Tennis Ball For Christmas = The Best Day Ever (if you are a Blue dog)
January 2, 2014
Love
“Because sending a letter is the next best thing to showing up personally at someone’s door. Ink from your pen touches the stationary, your fingers touch the paper, your saliva seals the envelope, your scent graces the paper. Something tangible from your world travels through machines and hands, and deposits itself in another’s mailbox; their world. Your letter is then carried inside as an invited guest. The paper that was sitting on your desk, now sits on another’s. The recipient handles the paper that you handled. Letters create a connection that modern and impersonal forms of communication will never replace.”
Snail mail still has a special place in our fast moving, e-communique world. This reblogged post explains it beautifully. Best of all, you can see the uniqueness of the sender’s handwriting, and read and reread the contents of the envelope at your leisure. I save letters and cards. I do. I have for many, many years. ~Janean
Time to play, “The Matching Game.” It was my husband who collected Hallmark ornaments. First Star Trek and then later, when they were released, Star Wars. He always said they were worth more if we kept the boxes too. Unpacking boxes and unwrapping from bubble wrap to hang them on the tree. Then, less than a month later, pairing up the ornament with the picture on the box and wrapping them up in plastic bubble protection once more. Love. His for space movies and their universe of collectibles. Mine for him. Our sons share his love of SciFi. I’m boxing them up carefully because someday this collection will be divided between my boys and hang in their respective homes. When that day comes there will be room on my tree for different ornaments. You know, all the non-SciFi ones.
January 1, 2014
2:35pm
I’m still procrastinating by writing, but at least I started AND I’m standing up!
I’m sitting on the living room love seat, dressed half in pajamas, and half in clothes (jeans pulled on top of the long underwear pants I slept in).
Blue dog is wedged against my hip on the left, in his favorite living room love seat spot.
I’ve been playing on my phone.
Writing.
Tweeting.
Just picked A RAINBOW RIBBON up off the ground!
I kid you not!
I even thought of, “Over the Rainbow,” and sung a few bars, as Blue and I stepped on the sidewalk beside Luna’s fence.
Right after that musical moment we turned a corner and spied this bit o’color.
I took a picture.
I picked up the piece of rainbow ribbon.
A rainbow, in an unlikely place.
Found it looking down, not up.
Evidently today is A Writing Day.
January 1, 2014
(Excerpt from a New Year’s afternoon email reply to my sister. She knows the significance of my mentioning, “Over the Rainbow” too.)
Kintsugi (金継ぎ), meaning “golden joinery,” is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery using gold. It restores functionality to a broken vessel, and not only adds beauty and worth, it turns destruction and damage into the most valuable part of the piece. The scars of the past are not erased or hidden away, to be ashamed of – they are transformed, immortalized in gold.
How many times have I felt as if I could hold no more water – like a dry cistern? How many times have I felt parched as dust from a cracked vessel? As many times as I have felt like pieces of me have been lost or torn away, and as many times as I have cried over how broken I have become. Yet, with time, patience, hard work, and the touch of a Master craftsman, I may yet be restored.
A reminder for us all. Yes, life changes us, even sometimes breaks us. But those breaks can be stronger and more beautiful if we heal them with art. Fill the breaks with poetry, paint the cracks with art. Take the time and be stronger for it.
Thank you for this. I needed to see it today.
I first reblogged this post by another in December 2012. I’m reblogging it again today, just over a year later, on January 1, 2014. I just emailed this photograph of repaired pottery with beautiful words to my sister with the subject line, “We’re glued back together with GOLD.” She needed to read it too, because of this text reply she sent to me earlier today, “Yup all the pieces are coming back together. I can see they are being glued carefully into place. So proud of you. That may seem silly but i am.” Silly only because she is my younger sister, but not silly at all. I assured her I understood completely, and added that she and I are stronger together, connected by our “all in” ginormous hearts, even though we’ve made our homes many states apart. Life goes on and so do we, wearing cowgirl boots with sass and kickass, though we have pleasing manners too. ‘Cause we’re Gary’s Girls and Patty Sunshine’s too. Damn straight. 2014 is The Year of the Horse and we’re ready to run the race, while setting our own pace.
January 1, 2014
to new beginnings
The first sunrise of 2014 was lavender and hot pink. Vivid, bright, streaks of pink, and me without my camera. Blue and I walked through the park. The only sounds his tags jingling, my cowgirl boot falls and one crow, but thankfully for just a l’il while. Shoo shoo. No cars. No joggers. Quiet, as the sky woke up with color. I didn’t look at the temperature before we set out. I looked at it just now: 17 degrees, feels like 2, and me without my scarf. Brisk, cold air and snow don’t bother me, though I’m not a fan of ice. I noticed we also have a winter storm advisory. OK. Sure. Whatever. I’m taking it as it comes, not fretting. Hello, 2014. I didn’t stay up to greet you at midnight, but I saw your first sunrise this morning, and it was as fabulous as the promise of this new year ahead. GOOD MORNING!
January 1, 2014
7:45am
The last sunset of 2013 was a cool blend of blue sky and puffy white clouds with bands of pastel stripes. Gorgeous bare trees in the foreground make the background all the more lovely. Happy New Year, have fun and stay safe tonight! Cheers to 2014, may it hold lots of peace, joy and love. ~Janean
December 31, 2013
it is what it is
Dear GFF BFFs,
You know who you are. 2014. It’s going to be a glitterf*ckingfabulous year, isn’t it?! Don’t answer. No jinxing. We’ll take it day by day. I need to get moving and work on better eating, make art and write “for real.” I want lots of laughing and hugging and legal hell raising fun – you in?! 🙂 I hope so! I’m all in, and all heart, like a racehorse, galloping toward it. Hello 2014, The Year of the Horse!
Have you bought your sass and kickass cowgirl boots yet?! If not, the time is here! You f’ing NEED them!
Love,
*sparkly heart kind*
Janean
December 31, 2013
Cheers
Last day of 2013 today.
It all happened.
You saw me through.
Faith, and the prayers of many.
Thankful for unconditional love of family and friends who know me best, better than I know myself.
Joy, Peace and Love are ahead.
In abundance!
Hope is the Light that doesn’t extinguish even in the darkest Dark.
Here’s to making art and writing for real in 2014.
I’m walking toward it, in cowgirl boots!
Happy New Year!
LOVE,
*sparkly heart kind*
Janean
December 31, 2013
moving forward
I purposely stayed out of my Online World yesterday. I wanted to enjoy the moment I was in. I did. There were many beautiful ones. Smiles. Hugs. Laughter. Presents. Discarded wrapping paper. Happy boys. Funny Blue stories. Pictures. Memories of Mike spoken aloud. Other memories held close inside. Not too many tears. May the joy and magic of Christmas live in your hearts all year. Christmas is all about the LOVE. Let’s carry more of that into the new year.
December 26, 2013
Turquoise Tangles 