She made me uncomfortable. She made me squirm. I didn’t want to think about it, much less write about it. I plugged my ears and sang, “Lalalalalala.” L.L. quotes Sister Wendy Beckett, nun and art critic, as saying when she speaks about Piero Della Francesca’s painting, The Baptism of Christ: “Jesus is totally folded in […]
Light and Empty
I tiptoe through empty. Mindful to step easy when I reach vinyl. Not wild about down. Moisture clings to windows, and I see dimly. The house vibrates with damp and hums with dry. I’m instructed to turn the heat up past 58. No need to tell me twice. I can’t remember the last time we […]
I am
I am too big in my box to see I AM but when I am out of my box I am small so small and I see I AM everywhere I am. I write this in honor of L.L. Barkat who has inspired me to leave my “box” and yield myself to the vastness of […]
Bite of Heaven in a Pancake
Dennis and I are sitting in Sawyer’s Gourmet Pancake House after church. I’ve wanted to come here since I first read about it a couple of years ago, but we never remember to go. A “natural and organic family restaurant” that serves “great food, not fast food.” There’s a sign that says everything is made […]
Golden Confetti Rain
The diamond-studded grass crunches under my feet this morning. A few cotton wisps feather across the cerulean sky. And I am standing in golden confetti rain. The trees are letting go. I struggle for words to describe what I see and hear. Riffle. Ruffle. Whoosh. Pitter. Patter. Plop. Plop. Tumble. Twirl. Float. Flop. It strikes […]
R.E.S.T.
Rest. It’s my mantra these days. I wish I had learned it better before now. When the kids were at home. When I was always trying to do, do, do and be, be, be. When I was trying to satisfy people and satisfy my own perfectionism. It’s why I’m so smitten with God in the […]
Weeping and Celebrating
We spend… too little time experiencing the griefs themselves. The result is that these griefs remain hidden and never open us to our joys. ~David Whyte as quoted in God in the Yard. Branches litter the yard from yesterday’s wind, and leaves block the garage door. A political sign lies in the side yard. The […]
Reclaimed and Repurposed
It’s been a long week. And so it’s midnight before I begin to stir chickpea flour into melted ghee, finely chop macadamia nuts and mix with coconut into peaked egg whites, form chocolate truffles and roll in chocolate sprinkles. While the rest of the house sleeps. Wash, mix, mold, bake, scrape, taste, lick. I’m making […]
It’s a Two-Cup Morning
I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer. ~Martin Luther News on the radio startles me awake. Dennis forgot to shut off the alarm. I don’t want to get up. My elbow hurts, and my back aches. I know that Friday’s supper dishes line the counter–along with […]
Contemplating in the Yard
Looking is the beginning of seeing. ~Sister Corita Kent (from God in the Yard) I don’t know if L.L. took a camera to the yard. So far I don’t see that she said I couldn’t. I often take a tray to sit on wet grass or table. It holds my camera, binoculars, small Bible, God […]
