The Serene One

Life is lovely, delicious, stylish, and an adventure just waiting to be lived!

Monthly Archives: May 2014


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Yesterdays News and yet still reeling…

There were two of them. One blonde and the other brown. Newly born, the baby kittens and their equally tiny Mother were stranded in the middle of a rushing stream. Helpless and afraid – the earlier rains surprising her with a sudden flooding – the tiny Mama Kitty was stranded and loudly mewling now for help. I was amazed that such a loud voice could come from such a small body. Splashing through the rocks at the shoreline and fording water up to my hips, I finally reached the shivering little family. As I scooped them up one by one out of the freezing life-threatening water, I held them close to my bosom, cuddling the whole squirmy bunch warmly in my towel.

And then I woke up…

That was this morning’s dream. No doubt at all but that this was about my oldest daughter, Stephanie, and her little ones. I’ve come to know a few things over the years about dream interpretation and rushing water, generally, means emotions. Yesterday, my Stephanie was in her first car accident. As she sat at the red light waiting to turn left, a man – high on something – struck her forcefully from behind. He was going fast enough to shove her car across the entire intersection totaling her company’s vehicle in the process. She was taken by ambulance to the local Hospital Emergency Room as he was being arrested for drug intoxication. Talk about emotions with a capital ‘E!’

My daughter lives 800 miles north of me. She is 31 years, 1 month, and 5 days old. Last week… she had her very first cast removed from her very first broken arm. And now this? Oy vey! She is going to be right as rain though because Stephanie is the strongest woman I know. Despite the recent broken wing, my angel bounces. She does not break.

As for me though, I feel… Well, have you ever wanted a ‘Mulligan’? A do-over? Well I want one. I think we should just give May another go-around. So… I want a Mulligan. Moreover, I want to go see for myself that she really is okay. And a warm towel to hug them close when I get there.

I do hope the man that hit her finds a lighter path to follow.


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Maya Angelou …

I learned of Maya Angelou’s passing this morning while in the waiting room of the doctor’s office. It was at that precise moment in time when I realized just how much this remarkable woman meant to me. I never had the pleasure of meeting her in person. Maya Angelou was a stranger to me. And yet… I immediately began to cry.

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

There was a long wait in that waiting room this morning (they are called that for a reason) so I had quite a bit of time to wipe my tears and reflect on this amazing woman. I had time to think about her beautiful spirit and the strength of her wisdom; I had time to remember her lovely poetry and inspirational writing; I had time to remember the peacefulness of her serenity and the strength of her femininity. I had time enough to know that I am feeling this loss personally.

I look around my office and I feel her presence everywhere. I see her quotes on my wall and in the books on my shelf. I see her name in the tags attached to my blog and on this post. My fourth post on WordPress was one of the quotes taken from her book, “Letter to My Daughter.”  [Be a Rainbow in Someone Else’s Cloud posted on 04/11/2014]  Her name is on the news, on your lips, and in my head. I feel her everywhere but, most especially, I feel her in my heart.

Maya Angelou taught me how to be a strong woman. Her words have lifted me on days when I didn’t even have the strength to raise my eyes in prayer or close them in meditation. In her writings, I have found the will to go on for just one more day and to love again even when all hope was lost. Maya Angelou taught me to find the joy in Life and in who I am — as a person, as an artist, as a woman, and as a Mother. Through her, I’ve learned the true definition of success.

“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.”

I read this blog earlier when I was having trouble finding the words through my tears. The Daily Post | “When I am writing, I am trying to find out who I am.”  It helped.

Maya Angelou taught me how to be a creative writer and a hell of a lot about being a strong confidant woman. Maya Angelou showed all of us, though, how to be a compassionate, loving, wise, and supremely beautiful Human Being. What an incredible legacy.

Thank you Maya.

 


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Today’s WOTD is … sonder

/SAHN-der/
n. the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own—populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness—an epic story that continues invisibly around you like an anthill sprawling deep underground, with elaborate passageways to thousands of other lives that you’ll never know existed, in which you might appear only once, as an extra sipping coffee in the background, as a blur of traffic passing on the highway, as a lighted window at dusk.

Sonder | from The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

from John Koenig on Vimeo

“The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows (dictionaryofobscuresorrows.com) is a compendium of invented words written by John Koenig. Each original definition aims to fill a hole in the language – to give name to emotions we all might experience but don’t yet have a word for.

The author’ s mission is to capture the aches, demons, vibes, joys and urges that roam the wilderness of the psychological interior. Each sorrow is bagged, tagged and tranquilized, then released gently back into the subconscious.”


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A Memorial Day Thank You

| From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |

Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States for remembering the men and women who died while serving in the country’s armed forces.[1] The holiday, which is celebrated every year on the last Monday of May,[2] was formerly known as Decoration Day and originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the Union and Confederate soldiers who died in the war. By the 20th century, Memorial Day had been extended to honor all Americans who have died while in the military service.[1]

[1] “Memorial Day”. United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Retrieved 2010-05-28. [2] 36 U.S.C.  § 116

Thank you for your service.

Memorial Day Flowers


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▶ His Daughter ~ Molly Kate Kestner (Original) – YouTube

I have no words today. Only feelings…

“Everyone has talent. What’s rare is the courage to follow it to the dark places where it leads.” – Erica Jong

Clearly, this high school senior from Austin, Minnesota is not afraid.

mary kate

▶ His Daughter ~ Molly Kate Kestner (Original) – YouTube

Published on Apr 20, 2014

This is a story…so listen.

“His Daughter” single now on iTunes!
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/his…
And Google Play (for Androids)
https://play.google.com/store/music/a…
Twitter: https://twitter.com/molly_kate95
Instagram: http://instagram.com/molly_kate95

LYRICS:

“Everything’s gonna be alright.”
She whispers to herself.
She was only 6 years old that night.
As she hid behind that shelf.
Cause daddy had a little too much to drink.
And mama didn’t want her to feel the pain she felt.
But she still felt the pain…

Well 10 years they came and went,
and dad was gone.
So she looked for love in other men.
And tried to act strong.
Broken hearts and Scars in only places she could see.
Cause she just wanted, she just wanted to feel something.

And as she sat there on that bed,
thinking bout what those girls said,
tears streamed down her eyes.
She cried…

“If there’s a God out there
Please hear my prayer.
I’m lost and I’m scared,
and I’ve got nowhere else to go.
I’ve come a long, long way.
But I’m not sure I can make it much farther…
So if you’re listening, could you give a helping hand.
To your daughter.”

Well her path started to change.
She reached out and grabbed God’s grace.
And finally, she saw a light.
Until that night…
Where she decided one drink was alright,
and one thing led to another.
Next thing you know, 9 months go by,
she’s a mother.

And as she laid there in that bed.
Stroking that small angel’s head.
Tears streamed down her eyes.
She cried…

“If there’s a God out there.
Please hear my prayer.
I’m lost and I’m scared,
and I’ve got nowhere else to run.
I’ve come a long, long way.
But I’m not sure I can be the best mother…
So if you’re listening, could you give a helping hand.
To your daughter.”

Well that baby grew into a boy.
Who became her pride and joy.
He loved her like no man could.
And her heart felt peace, cause she finally understood.
God’s love.

And as she laid there in that bed,
99 years old.
She grabbed her son’s hand and said.
“There’s something you must know…”

“There is a God up there.
Who heard my prayer.
I was lost and afraid.
And I had nowhere else to go.
I had no clue, what to do
And then He sent me you.”

So if you’re lost and afraid,
and you feel so alone,
don’t worry child,
cause there’s a Father who will love you as His own.
Just like he loved his daughter.
Like he loved His daughter.


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Recipe | The Kaleesi Burger

Oh myyy…

PornBurger

“Moon of my Stars”… “Mother of Dragons”… Call this smoldering dinosaur kale burger what you will, just don’t call it weak. Smokey morsels of crisped shiitake “bacon,” crown a regal beet gratin, smothered in Red Dragon cheese on top of a crunchy, berberre-rubbed kale patty, heirloom tomato, and slathering of sumac aioli. Dracarys! (Translation: “Fuck raw horse heart!”)

serious h/t to  J. Kenji Lopez for the mushroom bacon

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ReBlogged // #jumpforjoyphoto | Jump for Joy Photo Project + Murality Vancouver

Jump For Joy! – Photo by Eyoälha Baker http://www.jumpforjoyphotoproject.com

Every day beautiful photos such as this arrive in my inbox from JUMP FOR JOY!’s WordPress blog.  Each photo guaranteed to make me smile and change the course of my day. And I think that is her whole point… “I hope to contribute to the shift of our collective focus from the negative to the positive.” Eyoälha Baker “captures the beauty of the human spirit in mid-air through the simple act of taking photographs of people jumping for joy.”

I feel I have found a way to reach the true joy and child-like playfulness within people by having them jump for joy in front of the camera lens. This playful, child-like joy is why I’ve launched the project — Jump for Joy!

“Surrounding yourself with images that uplift your spirit is as important for your health as nutritious food.” – Deepak Chopra in Origin Magazine

Besides the joy of finding these photographs in my inbox every day, Eyoälha also has two major projects happening:

She is raising money via Kickstarter to cover costs of creating an epic public art mural with photos of 100+ people jumping for joy around Vancouver on a 9000 sq. ft. building wall in the Down Town east side. — Jump for Joy Photo Project + Murality Vancouver

And…

All pledges OVER the $5000 mark will go towards completing a book of 10000 people jumping for joy around the world!

“Create art, spread joy, feel good.” I LIKE her.