My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, coffee life, spirituality and the mystery of it all.
reading in the quiet of predawn
ms
leads to reflection and contemplation
…the gift of this day
our soul needs these rituals
as we offer our limitations and gifts
…the gift of this day
in these sacred moments we discover
in the ground of our very being we are love
…the gift of this day
… I had my heart surgery, where they replaced my aortic valve. So, I thought I’d share my gratitude list with you today as it follows the theme of my last posting:
- Thankful for a healthy heart and it’s as full as it is
- Thankful for time with family and friends
- Thankful for the opportunity to enjoy the things that have become such a gift in my life such as time with nature, photography, blogging, conversations with family and friends
- Thankful for my prayer and meditation times
- Thankful for my journals, fountain pens and the words I uncover with them
- Thankful I can experience and enjoy each new sunrise and sunset
- Thankful for another day to venture into a coffee shop to visit my favorite baristas
- Thankful for the chance to read poetry, which I’d never done before
- Thankful for the chance to try my hand at poetry, haiku
- Thankful for the chance to create more of my photo books to share my photography and my words
- Thankful for my home and the remodeling this past year
- Thankful for blueberries in my Irish Oats 😂
- Thankful for DQ Blizzards 😂
- Thankful for my camera upgrade 2 years ago and a lust for the next upgrade 😂
- Thankful that what I have is enough and in all honesty do not need anything more than what is already in my life
- Thankful that there are still those who embrace love, compassion, serenity, joy, hope, peace and …. ❤️
“Sometimes I think, were I just a little rougher made, I would go altogether to the woods—to my work entirely, and solitude, a few friends, books, my dogs, all things peaceful, ready for meditation and industry—if for no other reason than to escape the heart-jamming damages and discouragements of the worlds mean spirits. But, no use. Even the most solitudinous of us is communal by habit, and indeed by commitment to the bravest of our dreams, which is to make a moral world. The whirlwind of human behavior is not to be set aside.”
Mary Oliver
When I feel the heart-jamming damages and discouragements of the worlds mean spirits, I too wish to run to the woods, or in my case the natural areas. I would also include my journals, fountain pens, camera and chocolate to her list. Yet, I’m aware of my need to not set aside but live within the whirlwind of human behavior. Who knows, I could be someone else’s whirlwind. However, there are those times when I need to go the woods and connect with nature just so I can return and face the whirlwind of human behavior. Maybe I also need to be a little rougher made. Hope you had a good day.
I enjoyed the extra hour of sleep last night. Began this day with my quiet meditation and prayer time. I watched a blazing pink and red sky from my window this morning. Breathtaking gift. Then headed to the coffee shop to visit my baristas, Emma and Megan. They made me a favorite, an Old Town mocha, extra hot. When I returned home I made a bowl of Irish Oats with strawberries and blueberries. Overcast skies then dominated the rest of the day. So, it became a day for journaling and I started rereading Annie Dillard’s book Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. I started reading her book a couple years ago but for some reason could not finish it. A cold wind has blown today causing the few remaining leaves to let go of their grip and take flight where the wind chooses. The Canada Geese were sitting on the pond earlier in an attempt to over talk one another. Not sure anyone was listening, except me! Glad they settled down. My hands and feet have been cold all day, which is normal for this time of the year. Had a couple of meetings and just got home from the last one. I’m in for the night. It was a good Sunday. Hoping you had a good day.
I finished reading this book about a week ago. It took me several weeks to read it as I needed to verify a lot of the information they presented, which really turned out to be a good exercise. The authors describe themselves as urban mobility advocates, and they live such a life. What was provided was helpful in my understanding of how our country is so automobile centered in both how we live life and how we build our cities. This couple moved from Canada to the lowlands of South Holland, a country that has been in transition from automobile dependency to mass transit, bicycle and walking infrastructure since the 1970s. What they and Holland propose would require changes many in the US would resist. I’m not sure how I discovered their book, this is their second book, nor why I bought it. Maybe a major shift in the universe. Maybe it’s because I watch 75-100 cars pass while I wait at the bus-stop, each with one person in them, and this is during a 5 minute wait. I’ll write more about this later as I have a few thoughts that need formed and writing is a way for me to work them out. Hope you had a good weekend!
“With words at your disposal, you can see more clearly. Finding the words is another step in learning to see.”
Robin Kimmerer
I believe that each pen, or any writing instrument, is a tool filled with words and that it is the task of the writer to find them. And, I define a writer as everyone! We just don’t know it yet. Just pick up the pen and put it to paper. I also believe words are found in blank journals and it is the writer’s task to find them. If you don’t believe me then get a journal and pen and begin to write daily. The words may be just for you but they are there.
This morning we had a light frost with the temperature around 30 degrees. By mid-morning the sun and bright blue sky had melted it away. It has been a quiet day for me. This afternoon I sat in my chair in the sunshine and let the sun warm me, inside and out. I watched the wind blow leaves across the yard, making that rustling sound as they danced in front of me. Now it is overcast and cooling down. My journals are my attempts to find words that describe such moments. and they also help me see such moments. It is a practice where progress not perfection is the task. I love what I see in this world so I use photography and my journals as ways to describe them. That’s my reason to journal and why I love my photography.
This past summer I received an unexpected package from Amazon. It had my name on the package but I did not order anything and thus it was unexpected. It turned out to be a Huskee Cup from the coffee gods. I did find out later who the specific coffee god was. They had seen my post about these cups. So, after a bit time using it this is my Huskee Cup review.
First, I will say I like the cup. It is appealing to me in its looks. I also like how it feels in my hand. It is light as a feather. But, I am not in agreement with their claims on their website. They chose polypropylene for at least half of the cup material for reasons they specify on their website. Their reasons are the following: It produces a durable product that can withstand the rigours of the café environment. It produces a cup whose materiality complement and highlight the innovative design features. It creates a material that can be recycled, reused and re-purposed at the end of its life in an environmentally friendly and efficient way.
They claim the cups materiality increases the cup’s thermal retention properties, while it’s fins protect your hands from the heat of the drink by minimising the surface area your hands come into contact with! In my experience so far I have found that with no insulation properties in the polypropylene it is not capable of keeping my drink hotter longer nor keeping my hands from getting hot, as their websites states. Their claims do not seem valid from my experience. I have since read other reviews with the same claim.
Having said that, I like the cup and use it. It’s kinda Kool. The coffee shop Lima Coffee Roasters serves their coffees in them and the customers all seem to like them. It is also a conversation starter when I take it to other coffee shops. I offer a thank you to the coffee gods for the gift.
Generally speaking, I’m not one to advocate photographic rules, but I do think it helps to take off the lens cap.
Catherine Jo Morgan
The above image says a lot about my life/lifestyle. I use both a camera and a journal to record what I see and what I experience around me. I have carried both for many years on a daily basis. I enjoy the feel of both when they are in my hands. Both are an art form and require some skill in using them. We only get better when we practice them regularly. I thought the above quote was comical and is true for both the camera and the fountain pen. 😂
Leaves have begun changing colors and are making their end of life journey to blanket the ground with their colors. Canada Geese are loudly flying in formation as they return for the fall and winter months. Mornings are becoming cooler and the heavy dew will be turning to frost soon. The sun has begun to rise farther south on the horizon, and later, signifying the season of shorter days. Jackets will come out of the closets to help us face those brisk mornings. Homes will begin to fill with the aroma of steaming pots of chilli soup to enjoy on cold evenings. All signs that the change of seasons is upon us.
I don’t promote many books here but this is one that has impressed me; Braided Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Nor is this a book review. I must say I’m impressed with how she brings across her message of our need to connect with all of creation. We have lost that. She reminds us where our place is within creation, that we are part of creation and not superior to all of creation.