REDONDOWRITER'S SACRED ORDINARY

Redondowriter's Mom and Grandma's Day

This is grandma Fran and four of her almost six grandchildren taken after take-out Mexican dinner tonight, my favorite, and I got to choose. On the left is Whitney (21), then Fritz (3), me, Henry (5) and Anthony (19) on the right. Whitney and Anthony belong to my daughter Christy and their dad is Lorenzo. Henry and Fritz are my son Tony and his wife Gretchen's sons. We are in grandma's favorite living room chair, but the bad news is that I sank in and my tummy pooched out dramatically, to say nothing of my skirt being hitched up showing too much expanse of my nearly snow white legs. I found that if I severely cropped this photo, you can't tell what the bottom half of me looks like. I try to accept myself as I am, but this particular photo accentuated the negative and then some. Now those kids are gorgeous, but I admit I have a little bias.

The only ones missing were my son Joe and daughter-in-law Laura, and Zach, 2. This photo is from my trip to Washington in April. Video conferencing is fabulous, however, and all of us passed the laptop around and got to see the Washington contingent almost like we were in the same room. Zach kept trying to touch everybody from his side of the world.

It was a very nice day and I got lovely surprise gifts: a gorgeous yellow orchid in a crystal vase and a large staked star jasmine filled with blossoms. Yum! It was a total blessing to be with my family today.

An Afternoon at Torrance's Madrona Marsh

Right in the middle of Torrance, CA is an extremely unique park: the Madrona Marsh Nature Preserve. It is one of the last remaining vernal marshes in Southern California and the only one in Los Angeles. It exists because several local people fought to keep a portion of it protected and preserved. Because I was born in the area, I remember when a lot of Torrance was still truck farms and the marsh took up a huge area. The land developers would have liked the entire area, but they only were able to acquire part of it thanks to the Friends of Madrona Marsh who fought long and hard. If you are ever in the area, take a docent walk sometime. And they even have night time docent walks in the summer.

This afternoon my artists group had an art show there so I volunteered to help sell food, but I also got to see some of the plants nearby the food area and near the Nature Center. I'll go back soon so I can wander the whole area. Here are a few of the plants I saw. You can see them larger if you double click on the thumbnails.

These blue flowers were on bushes throughout the area. Anybody know their name? Below are plants I remember from my childhood yard in Sunland, CA, but I don't know their name either.

What a nice way to spend an afternoon, and my volunteer partner was a man whom I had never met, but we had so many interests in common. I hope to take a workshop with he and his wife in August on using mandalas for breakthrough experiences in creativity. He has a stained glass studio in Baton Rouge, but they live locally now. Meeting him was a delightful synchronicity.

And last but not least, there were sunflowers everywhere, as well as California poppies. Imagine my surprise when I attended a benefit for my school tonight and the theme incorporated sunflowers which were everywhere. This was a nice day!

And I went out and got my Cookie a new blue collar today and as I type, she is happily chewing on a pig hoof. I'm seeing her through different eyes--a day at a time. Thank you to so many of you who left such nice messages of encouragement and support in the comments about Cookie being sick. They mean so much to me.

Sigh! Cookie is Sick

One of the loves of my life, Cookie, is apparently ill and I didn't even know it. This is one of my favorite photos of her by the ocean just as the sun set. I rescued Cookie in November 1996 and the vet estimated her to be about one year then, but she has been a remarkably healthy dog all these years. A year ago the vet put her on a weight loss dog food which I mix in with chicken and broth I cook for her in the crockpot each week. She also went on a med for night-time incontinence several months ago. I could see she was thinning down and when she went in today she had lost 8 1/2 pounds from a year ago. That's the good news, but maybe a symptom of not good news. She is apparently not assimilating protein.

The vet was someone I hadn't seen before in the Hermosa Animal Hospital and I liked her very much. Even though Cookie initially appeared healthy, she wanted to run blood tests routinely because she's a senior dog. About 5 p.m. she called to talk to me saying that there appears to be something going on in her liver and/or her adrenals. I take her back on Monday for a day admit while they run further tests to see if she could have Cushings Disease or canine Addisons Disease, which I personally don't know anything about. Both diseases cannot be cured but can be treated. If it is neither, then further tests will have to be done to see what is going on.

I have had dogs in my life all of my life, but Cookie has been very unique as I was divorced and it was just the two of us all these years. She has been my reason to come home in a timely fashion; she's my canine kid. She's also a reason I don't travel a lot. When my grandson was living here, he and his dad watched Cookie; now I pay someone to live with her while I'm gone. I'm always uneasy when I am away from her overnight. I'm really in a floating mode, going down the River of Denial. Needless to say, I will have her tested until something is diagnosed and with any kind of luck, she can continue with some quality years.

Sigh! I know we all have our life cycles and I've taken her for granted because she has been so healthy. I have a gut ache and I feel so sad.

From Camo Cat to Praying Puppies

A few days ago I posted a caption challenge for the camo cat. Thanks to the following five people who wrote great captions.

Imelda at Greenish Lady says: "Here's my head. Where's my body? My body! I had a body!"

Dannie, my friend since first grade: "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." And her second suggestion: "Can't you move over a bit? It's a little crowded in here."

Kathryn at A Mindful Life: "I didn't do it! The couch was this way before I jumped up, I swear!"

Joyce says, "Ain't nothing like the real thing, baby, ain't nothing like the real thing."

Kim H. says, "If I'm very, very still do you think they won't see me?"

Mildred Garfield at My Mom's Blog says: "Sitting pretty."

I sure don’t want to slight the dogs of the world, however. This photo is from The Funny Dog Site and you can caption it if you like, but I want you to picture all these puppies praying.
.

And that's because I found these great letters to God at Funny Dog

Dear God, Why do humans smell the flowers, but seldom, if ever, smell one another? Where are their priorities?

Dear God, When we get to heaven can we sit on your couch? Or is it the same old story?

Dear God, Why are there cars named after the jaguar, the cougar, the mustang,The colt, the stingray and the rabbit, but not ONE named for a dog? How often do you see a cougar riding around? We dogs love a nice ride! Would it be so hard to rename the Chrysler Eagle the Chrysler Beagle?

Dear God, If a dog barks his head off in the forest and no human hears him, is he still a bad dog?

Dear God, If we come back as humans, is that good, or bad?

Dear God, More meatballs, less spaghetti, please.

Dear God, When we get to the Pearly Gates, do we have to shake hands to get in?

Dear God, Are there dogs on other planets or are we alone? I have been howling at the moon and stars for a long time, but all I ever hear back is the Schnauzer across the street.

Dear God, Are there mailmen in Heaven? If there are, will I have to apologize?

Dear God, We dogs can understand human verbal instructions, hand signals, whistles, horns, clickers, beepers, scent ID's, electromagnetic energy fields, and Frisbee flight paths. What do humans understand?

Dear God, May I have my testicles back?

Camo Cat Needs a Caption

When you get home from work too late to be creative on the blog, you use your "rainy day folder" where "things" are stored. This camo cat is from Hilarious Pictures where I have admittedly spent five minutes laughing at several.

So, like the back page of the New Yorker, take a look at this camo cat and come back with a caption, pretty please. No prizes, but certainly links to your blog in return.

Am I in a Foreign Software Country?

This was a mind boggling software learning day which I am unable to integrate right now because my brain is ready to sleep. It's not one piece of software I'm trying to learn; it's three and that's where the problem lies. My brain partitions are battling. I am in the process of learning two unfamiliar pieces of software: iMovie to make a slide show and collage and scrapbooking in PhotoShop Elements. I've used PhotoShop a long time but only for photos. On top of it, I met the current newsletter editor Dorothy of the South Bay Apple Mac Users Group today and she tutored me on taking over the newsletter for the June issue.

I learned so much from her about Macs that I didn't know in the 1 1/2 hours we spent together. I learn best from one on one tutorials. When I have time I'm excited to begin reading all the cutting edge Mac sites where a lot of the content for the newsletter is obtained--and then integrating it from three different programs into one application for the printer. As for my slide show, that is a work project so I'll continue pulling together the next three work days and I do have a school tech appointment tomorrow to fine tune what I've designed so far.

The scrapbooking and collage making in Elements is what I wish I could tackle first, but that will have to wait until the weekend--it's something I want to do, but no one is breathing down my neck to learn it. In Stampington's new magazine "Somerset Digital Studio" there is a tutorial called Digital Scrapbooking 101. If anyone is interested in learning more (I know nothing), Volume I was released in March and is available in bookstores and crafting stores.

Well, I rarely get bored but when faced with too many options, I tend to procrastinate. So, enough about computers on this Cinco de Mayo day. I'm retreating into Pulitzer Prize winner Junot Diaz's "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.

I say I like challenges but I think I may have started too many simultaneously--or I'll wake up tomorrow and everything will click and become clear.

Landscape as Spirit: Gardening as Spiritual Practice

Today and yesterday I spent some hours in my patio garden, as I often do when the weather grows warmer. While digging and pruning, I was thinking of Esther Kennedy, the Director of Spirit Mountain Retreat in Idyllwild. I have so loved the time I’ve spent there over the last five years and now a long time dream is coming true for their community—the creation of a contemplative garden. Esther sent out a nice newsletter listing all the upcoming programs and shared the garden news. She said that in preparation they have used Landscape as Spirit: Creating a Contemplative Garden by Martin Hakubai Mosko. I don't have this book but do have others that have given me ideas over the years. 

My own garden is not remotely Zen-like and was not created by a professional. I just know and respect the fact that I am compelled to work with plants and dig in the dirt. My totally home-made garden is my stab at creating a meditation garden that works for me.

It is largely shaded by huge ficus trees which is a challenge, but I’ve incorporated many spiritual symbols throughout the quiet space. Most of the larger plants were starts from friends or family, and I’m always searching for one more symbolic item to tuck into a corner or on a shelf. Tomorrow I’ll rehang my Tibetan prayer flags, which I take down for winter.

My garden would receive no awards, nor was it prayerfully designed or built except for the great contentment I get from planting something, observing the plants and flowers as they cycle through the seasons, then sadly tucking them away for winter.

Cookie's squirrel, who I named because she walks the walls and bedevils poor Cookie, is currently the only problem except for some snails. The squirrel keeps unplanting the color spot plants on the shelving near the top of the wall.

Fountains burble, wind chimes tinkle, my big blue flower wheel spins in the breeze, and Mary as Our Lady of Guadalupe, Kwan Yin, Buddha and St. Francis share space with the angels, a blue Victorian gazing ball, the funky prayer tree, white wicker furniture including an antique lounge, and accents of blue scattered throughout. I adore my townhouse, one of seven units in Villa Redondo, but it's selling features 20 years ago were the patio with lots of dirt waiting to have something creative done to it, the fireplace, the large large deck on the top of the building, and a double car garage. And--the proximity to the Pacific Ocean, of course. 

I prepare for bed with sacred dirt beneath my fingernails, which I will remove in the shower. I feel grateful tonight; I am my gardening mother and father’s child.  But I look forward to seeing Esther’s Spirit Mountain meditation garden taking shape, too. And I’m interested in your yards and gardens. Won’t you share?

An Estate Sale Find: First in an Occasional Series

Though I no longer intentionally collect angels, I couldn't resist buying this white bisque planter at a local estate sale yesterday. (If you click on the photo, you can see it larger.) A scrawny plant was in it and the wet, sour rot smell of the thing made me think twice. Once I got it home last night (it took a trip to the Long Beach Aquarium where it waited in the trunk), I un-potted the scrawny plant to put in my plant hospital area of the garden and scoured the angel planter to the nth degree. Then I cut three apricot-colored roses and put them in the angel planter, now vase, by my bedside. The smell is heavenly. Though angels are supposedly genderless, these three on the planter look distinctly female to me--and I'm always looking for feminine objects.

I am no longer garage and estate sale addicted like I once was, but I especially like estate sales because they seem sadly sacred to me. I try to buy at least one something at each one in honor of a person who I like to think lived life well. I also project when I'm poking through people's possessions knowing that my own kids will have to deal with all my collectibles one of these days. Some estate sales are admittedly emotionally disturbing because the home has gone to ruin as the person aged and grew infirm. But most of them seem mystical to me as I swear I can feel the presence of the person who has crossed over.

For everything I acquire from sales these days, I discipline myself to get rid of an object. Sometimes I'll just give something away or bring boxes and bags to the thrift shop. More often these days, however, I'm using Freecycle.org. If you aren't already using Freecycle, I sure recommend it.

So, tonight I am thoroughly enjoying my triple angel vase filled with three roses.