Listen to the Voice

Some months ago it was decided that I would come to a part this weekend in PA. My bgf wanted to come, but because of her stroke in April she is not able to drive. My coming and bringing her was a gift.

I had no idea why, but I started gathering "camping" stuff for the trip. I bought a small sterno type burner, a kettle, pot and pan. I thought it was for the trip to Tucson in January. I was driven to get the stuff, and could not explain it when asked.

Metro had water on sale last week. Two cases of 24 for $5.00. I had been buying them like crazy, but still had 2 cases in the car when I headed to upstate NY to fetch my bgf, spend the night there, and then head to PA.

This is all related, and I will get to that soon.

Friday we drove down to PA, and spend the night with Archie, and his family. We woke up Saturday morning to snow!! It snowed all day. At 5PM the hydro went out. No heat, no lights, no water, no Internet. It is still out.

Thankfully Archie has a generator, and kerosene heater, and I have an Internet stick! I also have a camp stove, water, ground coffee, and a French Press. All the things that I knew somehow I needed to bring for this trip.

I listened to the voice. I didn't know why at the time, but I knew it was important. A good listen.

Your Destiny

Watch your thoughts,

they become your words.

Watch your words,

they become your actions.

Watch your actions,

they become your character.

Watch your character,

it becomes your destiny.

One day at a time.

*****
You've got to give time, time.

*****
Insanity:
Doing exactly the same thing over and over,
expecting different results.

How are you doing? How am I doing?

Just as the ivy that grows on a windowsill requires water and light, our friendships need care and nourishment. We might wish that a good friend would be there whenever we wanted. But we get so busy scrambling to cover all the bases in our lives that we lose touch with friends, even with our partner. We neglect even to ask, "How are you doing?" "How am I doing?"

In spite of our busyness, the time we take for a brief telephone call can make us feel more relaxed and less busy. These seemingly small attentions are important to friendships and instill the spirit of human warmth and care into our lives. It reminds us again of what gives us meaning and opens us up to the affectionate feelings in our partnership.

Call a friend you have not seen for a while just to renew your connection.

If you're dog-tired at night, it may be because you growled all day.

Negative attitudes wear us out. Assuming the worst will happen, focusing on just our faults, constant complaining, are attitudes that bring us down. If we stumble on a flight of stairs and feel embarrassed, it's going to feel even worse if we growl and curse. We'll feel much better if we laugh at ourselves and see the humor.

People want to be around those who are cheerful. The good cheer we send out will come back to us from others who are healthy. We can choose these cheerful people as our friends, and our happiness will grow and blossom in this good soil.

Everything is funny as long as it is happening to someone else.

We laugh when others do something silly. We're amused when something funny happens to them. But if the same happens to us and people laugh, we might give them the evil eye.

Yet, when others laugh, it can free us. It frees us to see the world through new eyes. Likewise, when we laugh at ourselves, we're free to see ourselves with new eyes. Instead of trying to be perfect, we accept we're human. To laugh at ourselves is to accept ourselves. There's no room for shame when we laugh. We enjoy ourselves just as we are.

My brother and I at Jenn's wedding July/10

I don't always get to know why things happen.

I may spend hours, even days, trying to figure out why bad things have happened to me. I may get caught up in trying to understand other people, situations, and even my own thoughts.

Today I will accept that I don't have to know why things are the way they are. Instead I can pay attention to healing, growing, and learning

Hear the speech, not the speaker

"It is the privilege of wisdom to listen," Oliver Wendell Holmes once wrote. If I try as hard as I can to cultivate the art of listening - uncritically and without making premature judgments - chances are great that I'll progress more rapidly in my journey. If I try as hard as I can to listen to the feelings and thoughts expressed - rather than to the "speaker" - I may be blessed with an unexpectedly helpful idea. The essential quality of good listening is humility. Does a holier-than-thou attitude sometimes close my mind to the shared suggestions of others?

This is Confusing

When you know a thing, to hold that you know it, and when you do not know a thing, to allow that you do not know it: this is knowledge.
-- Confucius

Thank You

Thank you is one of the most important things we can say to anyone. Thank you packs a lot of meaning into two little words. Thank you says, "I see you. I see what you have done for me. You have been kind to me. I know it takes work to be kind. I feel special that you did the work of being kind to me. I am grateful.

Be aware of wonder

We have days when we experience the small coincidences in life - our car breaks down and we run into an old friend at the service station; we're thinking about someone and she calls just because we've been on her mind; we ask ourselves a question and the answer appears on the side of a bus or out of the mouth of a stranger at the bus stop. These serendipitous events usually leave us with at least a bit of awe.

The more serendipity we have in our life, the more spiritually connected we are. We're tuned in, attentive, aware, and detached. We're getting responses to questions and meeting the people we need to be with at just the right moments. We couldn't have planned it better. We couldn't have planned it at all.

Serendipity is a sign that we're letting the universe organize the events that lead to answered questions and fulfilled dreams. Life becomes a process of unraveling a mystery.

Be grateful for where you are now.

"It doesn't take as much faith to believe that everything happens for a reason as it does to embrace the belief that I am who and where I am now, today, for a reason - even if I don't know what that reason is and even if I don't particularly like who or where I am today," a friend said to me.

"When I can take that in, my dissatisfaction and negativity disappear, and I can proceed calmly and gratefully with my life. To me," he said, "that's what spirituality is all about."

Faith and hope aren't just for the future. Try using them on today.

Could it be that you're who you are and where you are now for a reason? Thank God for your life, exactly as it is, right now.

Wire Work Out Weekend!

Things are coming along well for the Flirt Fling. We have started working on the web page for the classes.There's still information that needs to be added, but the bones are coming together. My classes are 

the pendent in the morning

and the ring in the afternoon.

Saturday April 2, & Sunday April 3, 2011

4 instructors

8 classes

4 choices

morning and afternoon classes

nutrition snacks

lunch for full day registrants

$50.00 per class (kit fees extra)

$10.00 per class discount if you book 4

full information soon at

Flirt

Flirt Fling

Over the past week we have been working had putting the final touches to some of the aspects of the Fling. Choosing what to teach, making samples, getting print material ready,,,, I hope to be able to post more by the end of the day



Spring Fling

We had a wonderful evening yesterday. We hosted a working diner for the women we have invited to be instructors at the Flirt Fling. (April 2 & 3/11)

Highlights
Each instructor will teach 2 different classes twice
Morning and afternoon classes
Morning and afternoon nutrition breaks
Lunch provided
$50.00 per class of 4 for $160.00

Class information and registration will be posted at www.flirtdesigns.ca when available. I will keep you posted. So keep watching.

Flirt Spring Fling!!

The Spring Fling is coming together!!

We've had to change the date because the space was not available. We are now booked for April 2 & 3/11

Morning and afternoon classes each day.
Lunch provided.
Four instructors.
Limited space.

Purchase per class, or buy 4 for a discount!

More information of classes and prices to come!

The End.The Begining.

Yesterday was the last full day for us in Tucson .After spending part of the morning organizing our purchases and the car, we set off on our final adventure. Sabino Canyon!

The Canyon is at the north east corner of the valley that cradles Tuscon, and is part of the Santa Catalina Mountain range. This time of year the desert canyon is quiet and the colours are muted. In a month it will be full of colour. The blue sky was stunning though.

We took the tram the 3.8 miles to the top of the canyon and walked down. We followed the stream that runs through the canyon . The stream is feed by the rain/snow run of higher in the hills. No rain or snow, no stream.

Today starts a new adventure. Two really. One for each of us. LA is flying out of Tucson through Denver, and home. I will be start the trek back as well, but over land.

I'm still unsure of the route I will take. I know I want to go to Denver from here, but I don.t want to go north to Flaggstaff and over, or east to El Paso and north. I've driven on both these roads before, and would like something new.

Maybe I'll flip a coin after I drop LA off at the airport!

The West is Alive

       Doc Holiday and Jablonski.

The pictures are developed and back from the shop from the Tombstone trip.

A few years ago my BGF had said that the main street of Tombstone still looked like it did during the movie that we had just seen. I took our little band off on Monday to see if in face that were true. And for the most part it is! Who knew!

The center of the street is paved, but the shoulder are gravel. The side walks are boards. The place closes at 5 PM.


 This fellow was a customer, not an actor like Doc was.

So, my BGF was right. Not much has changed in Tombstone over the past 150 years since the Erps were here, and they had their little gun fight.

Tucson and More

Year after year when we have come to Tucson, we arrive the day before the show, work like fiends, and leave a day or 2 after. What we see of Tucson and area is what we see out the car window on the way to 'work'. Each year we say "I want to see this show, or go to that place or check out something." Each year it does not happen.

Well, that was until this year. Since we are not working a show, we have time to explore.

Years ago my BGF and I were watching the movie Tombstone, and she mentioned that the man street still looks like it does in the movie. Right. Since then I have been wanting to go and check it out for myself. To prove her wrong I'm sure, but to see a piece of history none the less. Each year we have been short on time, and it didn't happen.

Yesterday the missus and I took Jablonski for a ride in the countryside. We headed south east from here towards El Paso, turned south at Benson, and headed for Tombstone. We climbed higher into the mountains, and it got cooler and cooler. The overcast skis gave way to cold rain and show. SNOW in the desert?!?!? And a cold wind.

When I get my pictures developed I will post some and tell you what we found when we got to Tombstone.

Traveling Africa in Tucson

The Bead/Gem shows have opened in Tucson. Yesterday we went to the Africian village - twice.  This bowl was made by a Zulu using tradional a basket weave, but with telephone wire.
I was taken with the bright colours and the way the women had brought the modern world to an anciet skill.

The blog workshop started yesterday. It will combine the skills of photography and wordsmith. This should help with composition, both in word and photo. Many old skills will be expanded and new areas will be explored. Which drawers will now be opened to me?

The Tucson Experience

I arrived this week to take the blogging workshop. It may be intense!

Spring Flirt Fling Weekend!

Flirt Fling Weekend
 - adventures in jewellery design
May 7 & 8, 2011
Weekend of classes by jewellery artists
Join us for this weekend of classes with international artists showcasing wonderfully diverse techniques.

Stay tuned for more information as plans are finalized!