Portland Scenes

Attended the Blue Like Jazz movie preview today in Portland with my sister Susan and her family. I arrived about 40 minutes early, so it was a good time for a walk before the line twined around the block.

We sat up in the balcony and thoroughly enjoyed the movie. Blue Like Jazz premieres April 13th in many cities across the US. Highly recommended!

Afterwards, I found Stumptown coffee shop for a lovely strong latte. Then home across the bridge.

Around the Cul-De-Sac

I typed in the title of this post, and then googled cul-de-sac on a whim. The original meaning made me giggle!
Cul-de-sac (literally "butt of bag" in Catalan) is an expression of Catalan origin, says Wikipedia.

This photo is called "Still Life of Murphy & Forsythia." Murphy could care less about what cul-de-sac means, he just wants to leap up and finish our walk.

We managed to take a walkabout between rain drops this afternoon. But our rain garden grew mighty full. Should I be watching for an invasion of bullfrogs?

Keeping a Gratitude Journal

Part of the wellness package I received for participating in the 28 day Walkabout included Dr. Weil's book, Spontaneous Happiness. One section of the book in particular caught my attention. In his chapter on emotional well-being, Weil speaks about the benefits of feeling and expressing gratitude. One concrete way we can start doing this more is by keeping a gratitude journal.

On his website, Dr. Weil refers to author G.K. Chesterton, who wrote: You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink.

Then Weil goes on to remark, "I suspect Chesterton didn't do this automatically. He knew that, like forgiveness, gratitude can and should be cultivated through diligent practice."

What a concept! We can truly transform the way we perceive life through this daily practice.

On that note, a few of the things I'm grateful for today:

*Hundreds of muscles, joints and ligaments -- so I can skip, walk, bike (and crawl, if need be).
*My husband -- who is always supportive of my writing and volunteer time!
*Danielle, David & Emily, Anna -- you give me much joy.
*Poetry -- it speaks to feelings deeper than words.
*Green leaves and buds, the flowers just beginning to bloom here in the NW -- nature's art.
*God's love -- always startling & fresh.
*Strong black tea with milk -- mmmm.

What have you found to be grateful for today?

Join Me on a 30 Day Walkabout

I'm excited to let you know that I'll be participating as an Ambassador in the Walkabout 28-day Quest for Good Health! The campaign starts Monday, March 27th with a kickoff tea in New York. Fifty ambassadors chosen from all over the US will blog, tweet, and post updates about their experiences walking 30 minutes a day.

You know how we love to involve Murphy in whatever's going on in our household--so I thought he could model the official walkabout shirt I received in the welcome package, along with a boomerang, to add some Aussie flavor. Murphy'll accompany me on some walks, although probably only ten minutes or so. Now that he's almost fourteen years old, Murphy's slowing down. But fear not! He still tries to chase neighborhood squirrels, even if his back legs don't always move in sync.

So, if you're looking for a fitness challenge, join me this next month on the Walkabout. We could be virtual walking buddies! Let me know if you're interested by leaving a comment, and I'll link to your blog or site.

Hunger Games Movie

Bologna 2012 is Almost Here

In 2008, I attended the Bologna Book Fair -- an eye-opening experience. Click on the links to find my posts about getting ready & the writers panel, as well as a few photos from Bologna 2008.

Bologna 2012 starts tomorrow! To whet people's appetites, Cynsations is running a series of interviews and posting them in the days before the fair opens. I got to interview Bruce Degen, an author/illustrator, and Susan Raab, a marketing consultant for children's books and products.

SCBWI hosts a booth at the fair and runs special talks and events the entire time. If you happen to be at the Book Fair, stop by. You'll find plenty of interesting people!

Why This Kolaveri Di

This is the catchiest song I've heard in a long time.

Playing Around With Photos

There are different types of free image editing software available online--specifically, I've heard a lot about GIMP and finally decided to download it this week after reading yet another positive review.

So I've been playing around with the GIMP filters. I especially like one application called "Cubism." It reminds me of pictures we made in grade school by glueing a bunch of colored tissue paper squares on a larger piece of paper--in a face shape or nature picture or even just a cool pattern.

See what you think:

Here's another photo taken at Salmon Creek this week with the fall berries and seasonal colors:

Let me know--what types of image editing software do you use, if any?

Murphy of the Living Dead

After seeing Dooce's recent photo of Chuck, I knew my Halloween picture of Murphy would include multiple rolls of ace bandages. Meet Murphy of the Living Dead, just in time for October 31st.

p.s. Murphy only looks mournful because he wants his treat NOW. I promise no pain was involved--just much cajoling.

Happy end of October!

Twenty-Four Hours in Newport

Just returned from time at the Oregon coast with my Dad & Mary, Beth, and the Odells. As you can see, the rain cleared for awhile and we even got to stroll down the beach.

I can't resist taking photos of the tide pools and especially sea anemones!

We hopped around giant rocks and tried not to step on too many barnacles in the process.

Me and my shadows.

A Spider Poem

A noiseless, patient spider,
I mark'd, where, on a little promontory, it stood, isolated;
Mark'd how, to explore the vacant, vast surrounding,
It launch'd forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself;
Ever unreeling them--ever tirelessly speeding them.

And you, O my Soul, where you stand,
Surrounded, surrounded, in measureless oceans of space,
Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing,--seeking the spheres, to
connect them;
Till the bridge you will need, be form'd--till the ductile anchor
hold;
Till the gossamer thread you fling, catch somewhere, O my Soul.

--Walt Whitman

Bring a Moleskine Next Time

Visiting with an eighty-ish missionary man I knew from early years in Burundi, I mentioned my nephew's recent wedding, complete with DJ and lots of dancing afterwards.

Mr Wheeler smiled and told me, "I grew up in an age where a Quaker wouldn't dance unless someone dropped an ice cube down his pants."

He also said many other funny things I wish I'd written down. Lots of raw material for an interesting character.

Bless Your Heart & Gizzard!

This phrase popped into my mind yesterday. I can almost hear Mom's lilting voice telling me, "Laurie, bless your heart and gizzard!" when she was especially tickled about something I'd done or said.

I wonder where this saying originated. Any thoughts?

Ben & Jerry's Extravaganza

Don't you just love this big green bus? I wanted to hijack it and drive it across the country.

Sillies! We visited the Ben & Jerry's factory in Burlington, Vermont. This was our favorite city from the trip back East, not just because of the ice cream (although that helped). Vermont is gorgeous. I think this was the first time I ever set foot in the state.

Jeff told me his family used to drive through Dairy Queen and buy vanilla cones for themselves, then one for their German Shepherd, Mister. I think we need to fly Murphy out to Ben and Jerry's for their doggie cone day.

Misadventures

Me to Danielle:

"I had a misadventure with the lawn..."

Danielle:

"With the law??!"

That second option sounds so much more intriguing.

An Afternoon at the Met

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

St Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland -- 2006















Outside the Guinness factory in Dublin.

How Doth the Little Crocodile

"How cheerfully he seems to grin,
How neatly spreads his claws,
And welcomes little fishes in
With gently smiling jaws!"
-- Lewis Carroll (from his poem "How Doth the Little Crocodile")



The toothy smile reminded me of Carroll's poem. Love those painted jaws. I'd enjoy driving around town for a day in this van, just to see people's reactions.

Justice Conference

A few weeks ago, Jeff and I drove to Bend, Oregon for the Justice Conference 2011.
While we listened to the various speakers, an artist in the back of the hall worked on this picture. Nice, eh?


That second morning, I shot a photo of the sunrise from the patio of the house where we ended up staying.

I'll try and post about the speakers and what stood out to me in their presentations. The weekend got my mental and spiritual gears turning faster and faster! Now I just want to take the initiative to live out some of the results of my internal pondering.

Im Frühling

Im Frühling (In the spring), we start to see more birds back in the Northwest. Unfortunately, the squirrels return in force too! Today, I came upon a frisky brown critter digging around in my hanging planter -- no seeds yet, but he held high hopes. An entire band of squirrels already ransacked my eighty crocus bulbs. Guess I've been too complacent since last year, when the bulbs bloomed untouched...And it's not as if we've endured a frozen winter, unlike Iowa and Connecticut and several other Arctic states. Go find food elsewhere, you little beasties!


Anyway, I came home today and decided to make a Frühling collage. Several weeks ago, I browsed through a new store on Mississippi Avenue in Portland, and found a picture I wanted so badly--the artist had glued old newspapers to create a songbird shape, then matted and framed her finished picture. But the price? Oh, a mere forty-five dollars. Gulp. I thought to myself, "I could do that at home." And this time, instead of forgetting about it, I took glue stick to paper. No antique newsprint around, but even better, leftover road maps from our time in Europe. Combine large dose of sentimental with a dash of thrifty and the result's addictive.