January 1, 2015......a new year.
Blog entries should be made more often,
Life should be about painting and writing,
Life should be about husband, about family,
About my art and what makes me an artist.

Life should be smooth and pleasant and lovely,
About friends that make me feel good about myself and them,
About the time spent on community involvement,
About time spent on political and environmental issues.

Resolutions should be about all these things,
About doing what is best for me and others,
About solving the problems of the world in particular.
I am here to focus on all those things with my friends.

Rides.............

When I was younger, I always had a horse. I would ride all the time and I mean everyday. I would run the  horses or gallop fast and free, sometimes with a saddle and sometimes not. My first horse was named, Jim. He was an ex racehorse. He was a Thoroughbred and was very tall. My sister and I owned and rode him together and alone with our older sister who had her own horse.
My second horse was named Cricket. She was a little bay, part Morgan I am sure, and was a sturdy, stubborn little thing but I loved her. We did everything together. She had been my oldest sister's horse but I inherited her when I was 8 and my sister went off to high school boarding school.

Cricket would buck and jump around and would move when I tried to get on her. She would do other things as well but I grew wary and learned to deal with all of these tricks-traits. I only fell off her when riding bareback and she tripped. Otherwise I would stick to her like glue. I think, in the end, she loved me too. I took very good care of her. I groomed her and braided her tail and mane. She was my good good friend.
So I always had a ride. My little black jeep, now my younger brother's, was my like my little Cricket.

My third horse was named Jackson and he was a beautiful quarter horse that my dad bought for me from my roommate my senior year of high school. It was the year my mom died. He thought I needed a distraction and Jackson was that. My roommate was going to go into the convent when we graduated and she wanted her Jackson to have a good home and he did. He was so polished and the best horse I would ever have. I loved him dearly and he loved me. We spent lots of time together and covered many miles over the years. He moved to Idaho with us and we were happy to have him.

Now I have a smoother, new ride (like Jackson) which the mechanics took in yesterday with a promise that it will be fixed soon

Morning Ponderings

Do the leaves flip over to receive the rain? I think they do.
Does the bird realize there is a black shiny cat sitting under its little hidden nest? I think it does.
Does the deer realize the small structure in the middle of its path houses humans within? I think they do.
I sit here looking out the huge wall window at the many goings on in front of me. Do I appreciate it? I think I do.
Does the bitter, acidic taste of coffee, sweetened with honey and almond milk, improve my brain? I think it does.
Will I always be here to look out at this aliveness in front of me? I hope I will.

A November Goodby.....2015

Friendship.
When one ends a friendship is it ever really ended?
Does it hang out there, matter in the universe, to be picked up later on?
Does it linger and become its own entity? One can wonder.
Words do not detract themselves. Once said they are afloat........
They rarely stay intact unless written down. They pick up more words and
become whole paragraphs of incorrectness. We forget what we originally
said or thought.
But the receiver does not forget. The receiver has to chew on them and
decide how to react. Does one react inwardly or outwardly?
Does one ignore, or does one give words back....that is the question.
Sometimes it is best to not react right away. To think about the best way to
respond and whether or not to seek closure. To put oneself in the other person's place.
Whys are important. What caused a person to react in such a way. How did they
get to that place. Who are they really? Who am I? What do I want? Where do I want to be?
What knowledge can I glean from this and where will it take me?
We are complex creatures. We have many pieces that make us up. We occupy ourselves in
many different ways. Sometimes it is best to float away from situations that have provided an
escape. Sometimes it is for the best that we let go and see where that leads us.
 

Thanksgiving 2015

 Thanksgiving 2015.
A time to think about what is happening in the world.
Sometimes it seems crazy.
We have been tied up with our immediate world of late.
High frantic winds, trees falling on buildings, Bitter cold days and nights.
But our little cabin in the woods has kept us warm and dry through it all.
We may not have had electricity but we had fire in the wood stove,
battery operated lanterns, water jugs from years of camping,
and a knowledge of how to do without and use what we had.
I painted whenever I could by the light of a lantern.....adding a mellow glow
to the room as well as the canvas. It helped pass the time when it was impossible
to be outside or anywhere away from the heat of the wood stove. And we both read a lot.
We were thankful for much.
C climbed up on the roof of the garage, cut the limbs off, cut up the tree, and rolled it off the back.
He also climbed on the steeper roof of the studio and did the same.
Damage to both but we are insured.
Others in our area have had it a lot worse. Longer times without power or heat.
A good time not to be thinking about what is happening in the rest of the world for it is
chaotic and sad.

Idaho poem

Idaho glows in Autumn wonder.
Oranges, yellow, greens, reds, browns.
Splattered puffs of white on a deep blue sky.
Summer pleasures swiftly gone, memories left.
Work awaits, getting winter ready, snow soon.
Fall apples, potatoes, squash, carrots, mums.
Cooking warms the colder weather house.
Food warms the colder weather body.
Wool socks, hot tea, exercise, flannel shirts.
Indian summer, jack-o-lanterns, all color leaves.
Frosted garden, Frosted rose hips,
frosted.

 September 22, 2015.
It is time to be writing in my blog again as summer has almost passed and I am itching to write. It has been awhile.
Long lovely summer full of camp trips, family, gardening, painting, and creating.

I walk the walk of the walkers again after a year of recovery from back injury.
I am full of thanks for the exercise/yoga that was gifted to me for my recovery.
I am thankful for the time I spent each day bringing

myself back to a stronger me.
I will continue to increase my daily routine to include more and more.