Mugs

Bunny Haven Manor is not a big place. Less than 800 square feet. So there is a strict "in-out" policy. When new (or new to me) things come in, other things must leave. It keeps the place relatively uncluttered. It reminds me that people matter more than stuff.

If Wishes Were Horses

Lately my life seems filled with a lot of "I wish". And it's true. I do wish a lot of things. There is an old phrase about wishing, "If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride."

Pantone, Again

I've always wanted to say I went somewhere in the Year of the Cat, mostly for the silk dress. Probably not feasible to wait until the next Tiger year to do something amazing as I'm not sure I'll have much amazing left in me by then! (2022) So perhaps, the year of Emerald Green is the year to create a different world.

A Closed Path

Yet knowing how way leads on to way I doubted I should ever come back. (Robert Frost)

Of late people keep telling me that they see me setting new goals and taking steps forward. The support is amazing and very appreciated. But I'm always slightly puzzled by the observation. Of course I'm making new goals. All my prior goals and plans were an "us" that is no more. I cannot continue on that path as it is closed.

Still Know Nothing About Me

I have a thing for Sting. Always have. The lyrics. The sound. I even like how he's changed and evolved into a different kind of artist - playing in jazz, country and even medieval sounds. One of my favorite Sting songs - Nothing 'Bout Me.

Simple Joys

One of my gifts in life is to take pleasure in non-material things. Blowing bubbles on a summer day. Flying a kite in the fall. Going to an art museum. Or simply drawing with sidewalk chalk. It may be a product of growing up with more imagination than money. It may be the way I'm wired. Either way, I'm always grateful when I get the chance to indulge in my sense of play.

Silence like a Crashing Wave

Being single is different. It's messier (less need to keep "us" organized) and I'm often too busy to keep up. It's less regulated (less need to keep "us" on a predictable schedule). It's a good bit more random. Above all, it's quieter.

What You DO

It's no secret my life has been a challenge of late. In addition to the personal challenges, there have been professional set-backs. "We" made choices about my career; things I would not have chosen if I were thinking about just me rather than our family unit.

Twitter Life

Social media is part of my work life but I have a very different relationship with it in my everyday life. Facebook - meh. Pinterest - take or leave. Twitter - hurray! I love the brevity and immediacy. I love the snippets of people's lives. I love the sharing. I love the inspiration available at my fingertips. I love the news that comes to me with brevity - cuts down on the rhetoric. I love that the topics are as varied as the people. I love that whatever your mood - you can find playmates of like-mind.

Cup of Tea

For me, tea is more than a simple beverage. It's a state of mind. It's a place of being. It's comfort, calm and sometimes family.

Letting Go

Letting go is a process. Some days it's a forward process and some days it's a slippery emotional slope. An article on marriage break-down where I think, "He's a one. I'm a three!" At the vet with the Herd, when the vet tech asks if my handsome husband will be joining me.  A trip to Home Depot to finish off one of the many half-done projects. Any of those trigger the "could have been" about my ex-husband, "Peter" and a crying jag.

Chaos, Panic, Disorder

Source: http://www.paper-source.com

"Chaos, panic, disorder - my work here is done." It's more than a statement about my disheveled dining room table. It's a catch phrase I like to invoke - occasionally while leaving the emotional room and throwing the metaphorical match over my shoulder.

Thank You

My favorite thing to do the day after Thanksgiving  - which is my favorite holiday EVER - is to clean the house, decorate with lights, break out the holiday music and write out holiday cards. (Yes, "holiday" cards - Christmas, Solstice, Hanukkah - whatever people choose to celebrate this time of year, I honor.) Somehow, this little post-Thanksgiving ritual sets the whole winter holiday mood for me and has for the last 20 years.

Truth

As we've finalized the details of separation and sorted through who did what to whom, one thing has become crystal clear to me. The truth of what happened is actually not black and white when made up of feelings. It is much more than a simple "this happened, then this happened".

Food and Memory Lane

My Kentucky-bred step-mother had a thing for White Castle. When we visited family in Southern Indiana, on the way home, she'd stop at the last White Castle outpost (Kokomo) and get 50 sliders. They went in a cooler, and then the freezer when we got home. They were future Saturday night treats.

Gone Baby Gone

The Herd is missing "Molly, no!". She went to live with the ex. He needed comfort, and I knew she'd do fine as an only cat. 

Love Landscape

At the moment, life seems a little unreal. It's certainly not what I planned and not what I wanted. But my choices were not the only ones that created this life. What I did choose is who I brought into my life; unfortunately those choices limited who else was in my life. It changed my love landscape.

Fall changes

Spring may be the season of renewal, but fall is a season of change with its own unique beauty.

I got married in the fall and now I'm divorced in the fall. There is a symmetry to that. Balance as found in nature.

The Sound of Music

Just once I'd like to walk into a room and have the theme for BatGirl play...

Lately I think a lot about different life phases and the music that may accompany them. In TV and movies, music helps set the mood and cues us into the scene expectation. I can think of a lot of situations where that might come in handy.

October Blue

Spring is always my favorite time of year - so fresh, new and full of promise. Fall always seems like the end somehow. But sometimes endings are needed so you can start new.

The Past Bites

Mary Chapin Carpenter - Some times you are the windshield and some times you are the bug.
So I got to be the bug today.

What We Leave Behind

Earlier this week I ran into someone I had not seen in a while. In seeing him I realized how many people and activities I'd let go in my struggle to keep a dying relationship alive. I'd forgotten how much I enjoy spending time with certain people.

The Day the Music Woke Up

I have always loved music. One of the things that attracted me to my ex was his passion for music. When he left all the music stopped. And the color bled out of my world.

How Do You Define You?

At work recently we did a promotion to make our sales folks more "accessible" by having them answer some questions. And I realized I couldn't give ONE answer to most of them.

Circle Patterns

Have you ever noticed that life moves in a pattern?

A few weeks ago, I stopped by my grandmother's house for a visit. Her bathroom looked like a pharmacy. I was unaware she currently needed that much medication and was concerned. She said it was from last year when she was sick. (She was super sick last winter; we thought we were going to lose her. Should have known better. She's going to be 89 this year - tough as ever.) She knew not to flush the medication but found the Triad pill drop option too far away as she no longer drives much. I offered to drop them at the next Triad for her. So, the unneeded medication came home with me and was placed in a brown bag labelled "5/16 - TRAID"  - that way I wouldn't forget. The very next day I got an e-mail from my church - that Sunday we were collecting unexpired prescription medication to be given away on a medical mercy mission to Cuba. Problem solved!