A Year Of Finding Love

The End of A L o o o ong Year..., And The Beginnings Of A New Blog.

noreply@blogger.com (Neinah Avelin) — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 01:44:00 +0000

Hello Everyone,

Its been a long time since I last wrote - almost 5 months. When I came home from Mexico I was well rested and felt very relaxed, despite a broken toe (but I won't go into that!) I had spent 6 days with the Pacific Ocean outside my bedroom window, the sweet and gentle company of my friend B, squawkings of parrots and the delights of exotic flowers and trees, food and art - all of it, so very different from my daily life - and just like my Dad used to say "A Change Is As Good As A Rest," and I had both... Now I understand how a place can change a person... I definitely felt changed on returning from Mexico (in a good way,) Having had those days to do absolutely nothing if I wanted to - which I opted to do every day... and I came to realize how busy I make my life, and filled with things that are not necessarily the best use of my time.

SOOOOO..., on returning, I let go of some of the busyness (including A Year Of Finding Love.) I travelled alone to England to visit my sister for a couple of weeks, which was blissful..., especially staying in North Yorkshire with my Nieces and their children... We took long walks in the countryside, and reminisced about old times and laughed at the silly stuff of life.... And again, I experienced a great sense of replenishing and healing. I felt awash in love for and from my family..., and it was hard to leave them all...

Yet I was very relieved to arrive in Seattle and be met by CG... Coming home after a long trip was so very curious... Walking in the house and being met by the dogs, the familiar smell of the place and the reassuring connection to the belonging and furniture that we've accrued over the years... it was so very satisfying and comforting to be back to ones "nest."

This summer I have learned that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE going to new places and seeing new things, and learning about new places and get filled with inspiration, which feeds a big part of me... and then - I LOVE to return home... - to my nest, my sacred space...

So with great fondness I bid "A Year Of Finding Love" farewell and invite you to visit my new blog "Neinah's Nest."

Please click on this link http://neinahsnest.blogspot.com/ if you'd like to visit - I'd love to hear from you:)

With Love,

Neinah

Saying Adios To Paradise...

noreply@blogger.com (Neinah Avelin) — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 15:59:00 +0000

Well, its time to bid farewell to B. and head home to the frigid north...

I leave with wonderful memories of this beautiful place, and shared experiences with a wonderful friend and healer.

Rather than write words, I will let my photographs do the talking, I have loved sharing this experience with you, and so thank you for all your lovely emails and comments...

I feel like I barely scratched the surface of knowing this place its culture and its people...

So, until the next time I will say "Adios Mexico"...

Bat Watching...

noreply@blogger.com (Neinah Avelin) — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 04:52:00 +0000

Last night after dark, B and I shared a most wonderful experience...

Standing just a few feet away from this most bizarre tree in her garden...

(have you ever seen anything so fantastic & peculiar?)

We held our breath, becoming an audience of two... it felt as if we were in the middle of a filming of a National Geographic Special on fruit bats..

These little leather winged creatures swooped and zoomed silently amongst the branches to bury their heads deep into the nectar filled flowers, (as seen above) from this very strange "Gourd Tree."

The Flowers seem to grow right out of the tree trunk and have a most unusual odor... which the bats seem to find irresistible.... - I can tell because the morning after it looks like they had a grand old time with spent flowers all over the place...

What a great example of symbiosis... The tree gets pollinated and can set fruit, and the Bats get drunk on the wine from the flowers... - what a wonderful relationship...

I wish I had photo's to share of the bats, but their much to fast, and the light is not sufficient...

However, this morning, as I pondered the loveliness of the bat and what a treat it had been to behold I wondered about the symbolism and meaning of bats in native cultures... and here's what I found...

Though much maligned in more modern cultures, the bat in native cultures is thought to be highly sensitive to its surroundings, and therefore a symbol of intuition, dreaming & Vision, and is considered a powerful totem to shamans & medicine people... Bats ability to "see" in the night allows them to see through illusion, go to inner depths, and used in journeying.

Bat is powerful medicine, encouraging us to release fear and any old patterns which no longer fit in with new patterns of growth.. and therefore symbolizes new beginnings, trusting ones instincts and rebirth...

Powerful stuff... - hope you enjoyed.

Love,

Neinah

The Joys Of Traveling...

noreply@blogger.com (Neinah Avelin) — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 14:39:00 +0000

I LOVE to travel to new places, for many reasons, but here
are a few...

I get to see new and different faces, like this one...

..and this one...

I get to try new foods...

Lime & Chili Salt covered Papaya... for breakfast..mmmm...

I always look forward to spotting new and wonderful bird friends...

...like these two orange breasted parakeets...

..or this very illusive bird who comes in the morning just to drink

from the gorgeous flowers of this dew drenched tree...

(sorry the photo isn't clearer, its a miracle I captured any image of him..

but that's what I love... the challenge of it all...)..

... And I absolutely love to photograph the creativity of others, expressed in so many

colorful, beautiful and unique ways...

..flowers in the kitchen,, oooh the colors here are sublime...

...garden doves seem in intimate gaze...

...detail of hand painted wardrobe...

...the beauty and ingenuity of local architecture...

There so much to see, so much to do, thank you for dropping by and sharing with me...

Love,

Neinah

From Tulips To Tropical...

noreply@blogger.com (Neinah Avelin) — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 05:26:00 +0000

Q:WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN OUT OF THE BLUE A FRIEND INVITES YOU TO THEIR HOME IN A TROPICAL PARADISE?

A: YOU PACK YOUR BAGS, AND HEAD OUT ON THE NEXT PLANE AVAILABLE...

Which is exactly what I did when my friend B. invited me to stay with her at her beautiful family home in Mexico

Its quite remarkable how life can change on a dime, 11 days ago, I had no idea that I would be booking a flight to leave the cold and grey of the Pacific Northwest (where we are all longing for the elusive spring weather to show up.) And now, I find myself here, in the tropics enjoying fabulous 82 degree temperatures, lathering myself in spf 30 sunscreen sitting under giant "palapas," drinking chilled hibiscus tea by the gallon fantasizing about what life would be like to live somewhere sunny and cheery, warm and colorful everyday....? Sort of like when our family went from having a black and white t.v to a full technicolor t.v in the 1970's... (it was a radical shift for us!)

See what you think...

Looking over tiled roofs, Orchid and Palm trees to the Pacific Ocean...

Surfing all day till the sun sets...

Afternoon tea in the shade of an Orchid Tree...

Plants that bedazzle...

And flowers that bloom year round...

Its easy to see the allure, this is a very special place.

As I sit and listen to the flocks of the dearest little green parrots arguing as they fly over the house and sip my iced tea, I feel layer upon layer of stress falling away.

This place is working its magic on me and I feel a healing taking place... - So glad my friend asked...

So glad I said "YES."

With love,

from Mexico.

Neinah

Tulips...

noreply@blogger.com (Neinah Avelin) — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 20:16:00 +0000

At the moment the local markets are filled with myriads of brilliantly colored tulips, making me believe that Spring must have arrived... - surely???

But then, just a few days ago, as I drove to work and left a few pale shafts of early morning sun behind me, I found myself driving into a snowstorm...! Thankfully it was short lived, and a little later in the day, the sun came back, making me appreciate all the more those short sweet little sunburst moments... AND tulips because they are exquisite harbingers of spring, and their multitude of colors brighten my day (regardless of what the weather may bring.)

So, dear ones, in celebration of spring (which is just around the corner,) here's a lovely poem for you and a few more photo's to brighten your day...

Love,

Neinah

Tulips

BY A.E. STALLINGS

The tulips make me want to paint,

Something about the way they drop

Their petals on the tabletop

And do not wilt so much as faint,

Something about their burnt-out hearts,

Something about their pallid stems

Wearing decay like diadems,

Parading ﬁnishes like starts,

Something about the way they twist

As if to catch the last applause,

And drink the moment through long straws,

And how, tomorrow, they’ll be missed.

The way they’re somehow getting clearer,

The tulips make me want to see—

The tulips make the other me

(The backwards one who’s in the mirror,

The one who can’t tell left from right),

Glance now over the wrong shoulder

To watch them get a little older

And give themselves up to the light.

A New Sacred Place...

noreply@blogger.com (Neinah Avelin) — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 03:24:00 +0000

Peace and Quiet

Yesterday I visited a gem of a place on this little island. My friend Dianne who is a fabulous fountain of fascinating facts relating to feminine awesomeness http://www.femininefaceofmoney.com/ and all round cheerleader and great friend, recently told me about this place, and recommended I check it out.

Despite living in the area since 1993, clearly, there are still wonderful surprises that I have yet to discover about this corner of our world.

This little park, has a great and healing atmosphere with its exquisite views of the water, under-stated asian style landscape - that doesn't distract from the natural beauty that surrounds, but also lends a person to go inside and experience ones own inner landscape....

Everything has obviously been done with so much care and thought... here's a few more photo's so you can see what I mean...

A wise owl welcomes visitors...

A smiling fox (or bear) beckons..

A Tibeten Prayer Wheel... look at the detail...

Surrounding the base is this quote...

"Faith is the daring of the soul to go further than it can see"

This was such a treat, and my first experience with a prayer wheel. It's presence added great tenor and quiet import to the park.

As directed, I slowly turned the wheel nine times clockwise and said a prayer, on completion of the ninth turn the sound of a deep toned bell resonated from within the hollow wheel, its vibrations moved inside me to my core.

Sitting down, I was able to receive a respite from my over active mind and just be at ease with myself and the world - at least for a little while...

Needless to say, I plan to visit this sacred place often.

Finding My Way Home...

noreply@blogger.com (Neinah Avelin) — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 05:59:00 +0000

For the past five or six months I have been struggling to write and be creative and reach out.

Its as if my creativity has been held hostage by my emotions... These past few months, I have experienced loss, betrayal, heartbreak, moved homes, had niggling health issues and little by little my appetite and love of writing, photography, blogging, cooking, art have been edited out of my daily life...

During this time of heartache, it would seem natural to by kind and gentle, to feed myself tender morsals of inspiration, little truffles of delight to coax myself back to my center, back to my alive and vital self but rather, I have struggled - literally my heart just wasn't in "it" - or anything for that matter, and rather than nourish, I have starved myself of expression.

When I started "A Year Of Finding Love," I really thought that I could write every single day about some reflection of love.. some might say (naively) that I didn't plan for those little moments when the road of life hits a pothole or two, and gets messy, or someone you love dies... I didn't take into consideration the impact of life's "little circumstances" and how they might throw me off course for months on end...

But here's the ironic thing, denying my creativity is also the same as denying myself the opportunity to create myself back out of the world of grey-ness - its my escape ladder when the house is burning down... - I just figured that out - like... today!!!

After months in this state - and seeing no end in sight I've decided to tell myself in the immortal words of Cher in the movie "Moonstruck" (to Nicholas Cage,) "SNAP OUT OF IT" (I decided the words are enough and no, I don't need a slap across the face to grasp the reality of it all - remember - I'm going to try and be gentler with myself...)

So, I am going to try and find my way back home I hope to post something most days, energy allowing. The posts may not always be amazing and in fact be less than brilliant, but it is after all my practice to find love, and by allowing less than perfect, I hope to find love for myself.

With Love and Appreciation

Neinah

What To Make On A Cold & Rainy Day...

noreply@blogger.com (Neinah Avelin) — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 04:16:00 +0000

Well, here in the Pacific NorthWest, March has come in like a lion..., cold rainy, blustery days, we've even experienced the occasional explosive thunder clap or two...

Neither the dogs or I enjoy going out in this weather..., in fact, I prefer to be dry and warm (ditto say the dogs,) and in particular on days like these, I enjoy being in the kitchen, making something comforting, healthy and tasty...

Like this....

Split Pea Soup With Turkey Bacon

Here's the easy recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

. Olive oil

. 1 large yellow onion, peeled and chopped finely

. 2 large washed, peeled, finely sliced carrots

. 1 cup of washed, chopped celery

. 4 rashers of finely chopped turkey bacon

. 1.5 cups of rinsed dried split peas

. 1 tspn. of celery salt

. 1 bay leaf

. Sea salt & fresh ground pepper

. 7 cups of vegetable stock

(p.s this can be made into a vegan recipe by omitting the turkey bacon, or simply substituting a smokey tempeh or field roast type meat alternative.)

METHOD:

. Heat oil over moderate heat, add onions and cook for 5 minutes till they start to look transparent.

. Add carrots and celery and saute for 5 more minutes. Add celery salt, and chopped turkey bacon.

. After a few minutes all the veggies should be looking shiney and par-cooked, add the split peas.

. Stir the peas and veggies well then add the veggie stock and bay leaf, heat till it starts to boil then

turn down the heat to a low simmer, cover the pot, set your timer for 40 minutes (check on it a couple

of times, giving a gentle stir.)

. After 40 minutes the peas should be soft and the soup almost done, season with salt and pepper,

remove the bay leaf and puree the cooked veggies and stock. ( I have a hand held blender which

makes this job very easy.)

. Serve hot topped flavorful, chopped parsley (or whatever your favorite topping might be!)

BON APETIT !

Neinah

We've Been Away For A Few Days...

noreply@blogger.com (Neinah Avelin) — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 21:27:00 +0000

Guess where we went for a few days???

Need a few more clues???

How about this stately Saguaro cactus?

Or this drop dead view of big sky and red, red rocks?

Yes, we flew to Arizona for a few days and soaked up the sunshine, and on a day trip to precariously perched, ghost infested, mining town of Jerome, we soaked up the exquisite views, frosted in a layer of recently fallen snow..., it was beautiful, the sunshine, the snow, the mountains, the cactus... did I mention the sunshine??? Oh, and some very tasty chicken and queen olive stuffed blue corn enchiladas with incredible jalapeno and cilantro salsa (gluten free of course..) at a wonderful little place called the "Quince Grill & Cantina." Gosh..., I LOVE good SouthWest food...

Here's some snapshots, to share the flavor of one of my favorite states...

Enjoy!

Neinah

The facade is all that's left of this old building in Jerome.

The Quince Grill & Cantina...(note the icicles on the awning!)

Snow covered twigs against a startlingly blue sky.

The drive home..., sorry to be leaving...

Strange Snow...

noreply@blogger.com (Neinah Avelin) — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 04:24:00 +0000

Strange Snow

by Neinah Avelin

A strange snow is falling

around me

broadcast from a

goose grey sky.

Not the usual

silent flakes

but something other.

This snow in tiny

snowball form

passes by my ears with

a quiet hiss

on their way

to be collected in

mossy twigs,

foxes coats

and curled and dried

leaves left

from the fall.

Giving...

noreply@blogger.com (Neinah Avelin) — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 04:41:00 +0000

(Finding myself speechless and the incredible generosity of a total stranger...)

Today at work I'd got an inkling to go to lunch with CG and his lunch buddy Mino... Most days I do my own thing, preferring to work through lunch and leave work earlier... but today, as my belly rumbled at me and with quite a lot of work yet to get through I invited myself along...

As I thought he would, CG drove us to a little Mexican place on the island. A family run business that had three restaurants, the one closest to work (which CG loved to frequent,) had closed just a few weeks previous (like several other small businesses in our area,) due to the lack of business. So here we were trekking several extra miles for his favorite chile rellenos...

Behind the counter the man (Miguel the owner,) started to chat with CG, remembering him from the other restaurant..., then he looked at me, and I was shocked that not only did he remember me from the one time I went in there when he had been working, but also remembered our conversation about his beautiful reproduction painting of Our Lady Of Guadalupe situated on the restaurant wall looking down kindly upon the hungry customers...

He pointed to the wall of this restaurant, and asked if I noticed the same painting? "I did," I replied (still shocked he remembered me,) "she's very beautiful, one day I will go visit Our Lady in the Basilica in Mexico City." I told him..

He served us our food and disappeared into the kitchen. We sat at our table and started our lunch, Miguel appeared again, carrying a slightly smaller, framed image of Our Lady of Guadalupe... holding it out to me he said, "this is for you."

Our Lady of Guadalupe

If your curious you can check her out here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Guadalupe

I couldn't believe my ears, and was so stunned by his generosity. I immediately said "oh no... I couldn't... " I was a little embarrased, but he went on, saying that he had brought this back from Mexico city and that he wanted me to have it.. So, I said "yes." Standing up I gave this generous stranger a BIG thank you hug,,, and hugged my own copy of Our Lady...

Our Lady - Looking very much at home here.

Do you have a story to share about the kindness of a stranger?

It can be such a powerful experience can't it? Proving the point to me over and over again, that though we think that we are "separate" from others (folks different from us - spiritually, economically, racially etc. etc.) We truly aren't that different..., we aren't that separate... The fact that I can share a love of an image with a total stranger, and he endows and trusts me with this image that he loves and cares about so much makes me filled with love and filled with wonder and appreciation, at the kindness of this stranger.

A Day Late...

noreply@blogger.com (Neinah Avelin) — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 01:15:00 +0000

Though Valentines Day was yesterday, I wish to celebrate it with you today...

So, Happy Valentines Day Dear Friends and Family!!!

Last night the power went out at our house before I could make a special dinner for CG and I, so I'm planning on making it special tonight instead, but... the power just went out again for who knows how long... So maybe this "special dinner" won't get cooked for a while...

Still one very lovely side benefit of having no power is the excuse to light up the house with candles...

...which I absolutely LOVE....

I love the softness that candle light brings to a room, don't you?

Here is a love poem by the great and wonderful poet Pablo Neruda

'Who ever desired each other as we do'

Who ever desired each other as we do? Let us look

for the ancient ashes of hearts that burned,

and let our kisses touch there, one by one,

till the flower, disembodied, rises again.

Let us love that Desire that consumed its own fruit

and went down, aspect and power, into the earth;

We are its continuing light,

its indestructible, fragile seed.

Happy late Valentines Day...

With LOVE,

Neinah

A Love Poem...

noreply@blogger.com (Neinah Avelin) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 03:38:00 +0000

Its a short post today I'm sorry to say... a visit to the oral surgeon has stopped me from jaw-in too much..

Love you lots,

Neinah

A Homecoming ~

by Wendell Berry

One faith is bondage. Two

are free. In the trust

of old love, cultivation shows

a dark and graceful wilderness

at its heart. Wild

in that wilderness, we roam

the distance of our faith;

safe beyond the bounds

of what we know. O love,

open. Show me

my country. Take me home.

~o~0~o~

A request for loving prayer...

For Roger...

Please join me if you will and send loving prayers

to the husband of my sweet sister.

He has a short time left and

I pray that he knows a kind of gentleness and

peace, that he truly deserves.

Thank you.

Neinah

A Way To Share The Love...

noreply@blogger.com (Neinah Avelin) — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 00:24:00 +0000

For me, Valentines is another way to spread the love...

So in the spirit of sharing, I invited a few friends over for tea, chocolate cupcakes (sorry forgot to take photo's) and Valentine making...

I pulled out my considerable stash of craft supplies that I'd accumulated over the past half a dozen years... Ribbons, glitter, stickers, sequins, buttons, beads, vintage papers, and confetti covered the dining room table, barely giving us room to move... Oh, but what fun we had...

(Notice the prevalence of RED worn by Les Artists)

So many exquisite Valentines were made by all, so diverse, so creative, so filled with the love of these beautiful women.

Do you have a special way to celebrate Valentines?

If you make your own Valentine Cards I'd love to see them... If you send me a photo, I'll post it during the next week...

XO Neinah

Love And Kindness...

noreply@blogger.com (Neinah Avelin) — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 04:03:00 +0000

Hearts for valentines...

The weather has been grey and a tad gloomy, but inside I'm humming and feeling cheery... It will soon be Valentines day - possibly my most favorite of all holidays, that makes the most sense, and makes my heart sing... How about you? Does Valentines Day make you smile, or sing, or hum?

When I was younger "love" had to look a certain way, but as I get older, I see the value of "Love" in all its guises.

Love is worthy of celebrating, I will be writing and sharing over the next few days... I hope you'll join me.

Love,

Neinah

KINDNESS

By Naomi Shihab Nye

Before you know what kindness really is

you must lose things,

feel the future dissolve in a moment

like salt in a weakened broth.

What you held in your hand,

what you counted and carefully saved,

all this must go so you know

how desolate the landscape can be

between the regions of kindness.

How you ride and ride

thinking the bus will never stop,

the passengers eating maize and chicken

will stare out the window forever.

Before you learn the tender gravity of kindness,

you must travel where the Indian in the white poncho

lies dead by the side of the road.

You must see how this could be you,

how he too was someone

who journeyed through the night with plans

and the simple breath that kept him alive.

Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside,

you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing.

You must wake up with sorrow.

You must speak to it till your voice

catches the thread of all sorrows

and you see the size of the cloth.

Then it is only kindness that makes any sense anymore,

only kindness that ties your shoes

and sends you out into the day to mail letters and

purchase bread,

only kindness that raises its head

from the crowd of the world to say

It is I you have been looking or,

and then goes with you everywhere

like a shadow or a friend.

~o~o~o~

Walking The Beach In The Rain...

noreply@blogger.com (Neinah Avelin) — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 03:56:00 +0000

Having been camped up the house for a day and a half, we decided a walk on the nearby beach would be good, regardless of the winter rain...

Walking along the beached logs...

some look like giant whale vertebrae.

In a driftwood house...

we found sanctuary from the rain.

I loved these sweet little sea birds, as they joyfully played in the chilly

water. Swimming and diving like synchronized swimmers with dear little

swim caps on their heads... (any idea's on what they might be?)

Who was watching who..??? I'm not sure, but these NorthWest Crows

have certainly got their act together, feeding on all manner of shellfish, washed-up

half eaten carrion, and of course goodies that unsuspecting picnic-ers who turn there

back for a second and don't know how wily these corvid characters can be...

I love going to the beach at any time of year,,, its ever changing, inspiring and beautiful.

Here's a Mary Oliver poem I'd like to share...

Winter

And the waves

gush pearls

from their snowy throats

as they come

leaping

over the moss-green,

black-green,

glass-green roughage--

as they crumble

on the incline

scattering

whatever they carry

in their invisible

and motherly

hands:

stones,

seaweed,

mussels,

icy and plump

with waled shells,

waiting

for the gatherers

who come flying

on their long white wings--

who comes walking,

who comes muttering:

thank you,

old dainties,

dark wreckage,

coins of the sea

in my pockets

and plenty for the gulls

and wind still pounding

and the sea still streaming in like a mother wild with gifts--

in this world i am as rich

as I need to be.

Where Do You Go To Find Sanctuary ~ And Yourself?

noreply@blogger.com (Neinah Avelin) — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 22:37:00 +0000

I won't lie, its been a rough couple of months, which is why there's been an absence of blog entries...

A lot has been going on in our lives which for the most part is just, well... part of living... Last weekend we moved out of one house and into a new one. (the old house wasn't a good fit for us all, the new one seems to be a much better one,) still... a "move" is a MOVE and I think that for me, moving is close to the top of my list of most loathed things in the world! (especially if I have to do it three times within a year!)...

But enough of that... I write to tell you that in all the life changing events that have gone on for us or those close to us, I have discovered that during the challenging times I have such a profound need to restore balance inside... a need as important and elemental as food and water.

Do you know the kind of days where you're being counted on by so many people to do so many things, (and try to put a brave face on top of it all,) and your hearing bad news from several quarters and there are teenage children that are needing extra patience (and I never seem to have enough...) and still despite everything, the laundry needs to get done, the dogs have to be walked and dinner put on the table...?

At the end of day, this is my sanctuary ~ I go here to re-source my body, mind and spirit...

A bath tub full of hot bubbly water, candles, seashells, beach glass and my own company help me to return to balance. This is MY time to meditate, turn inwards and try to find myself, my relationship to spirit and this world we live in and..., some days it works and some days...

Do you have a special place, a ritual, where you find sanctuary (sanity.)???

I would love hearing from anyone who wishes to share.

o ~ o ~ o

Today at work I heard about a friend of mine's daughter who has suffered tremendous injuries from a car accident. She is in ICU fighting for her life.

Please take a moment to say a healing prayer for Karen.

Thank you...

With love,

Neinah

Goodbye 2010 ... Welcome 2011 ...

noreply@blogger.com (Neinah Avelin) — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 02:31:00 +0000

A stunning winter sunrise from the kitchen window.

Happy New Year One and All....

I love New Years Eve..., because I can stand on the cusp of the old year, getting ready to leave it behind and at the same time, I can look out towards a brand new, clean slate, potential filled, new year ahead...

This New Year's I reflected back on the joy that writing this blog has brought me, the people that I have met through it, and the discoveries I've made... In a way, I've experienced a form of training - to look for symbols, acts, reflections of love each and every day, it has been a wonderful practice that I have truly loved to share with family and friends old and new.

Obviously I have struggled to write each and every day, and I have had to come to terms with disappointment (sometimes in myself or sometimes in situations that affect being able to get the blog done.)

But all things considered, I am very grateful for this creative outlet and am already thinking of what I would like to continue to blog about once the Year Of Finding Love is complete...

I am very thankful to everyone who has passed through or has stuck around to hear my regular musings, and very much appreciate your comments and words of encouragement... and hope to hear from you in this new year.

As I let go of all that the old year was, I embrace the new year ahead and plant a seed, a wish, a hope, a dream... for all...

For a Happy, Healthy, Peaceful, and more LOVE filled New Year...

Love,

Neinah

A New Poet...

noreply@blogger.com (Neinah Avelin) — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 01:48:00 +0000

A Christmas package arrived in the mail yesterday... from my friend Gioia... Which is ALWAYS a thrill, because she KNOWS what I love...

A new book of poetry

The Voluptuary is a collection of exquisite poems by Oregon's Poet Laureate Paulann Petersen.

She writes of abundance and bees, stars and poppies, the moon and birdsong so many subjects that speak to my soul... (AND did you notice the gorgeous cover of the book... and oil painting of pomegranates by artist Miri Lavee... its oooh so luscious!!!)

Such richness I feel right now...

Here is one of my new favorite poems ~ enjoy.

WHAT'S LEFT FROM THAT FIRST GODDESS

Bits of her, finer than pollen,

still eddy the world with their dust.

Each speck of her makes

a seed for one of us.

Whole, where she lived in the sky,

her body contained all people, impatient,

straining toward birth.

She knew her huge self --

bone, brain, toenail and hair--

needed to crumble.

We are her, disassembled,

then grown into many.

We're the ones come from this First One

entirely broken apart, taken down

except for her mismatched eyes.

The right is a yellow

too bright to behold. The left,

a cool silver smudged

by cataracts of gray.

Our sun, our moon--

these, she saved.

Well, Its Not Exactly Tomorrow...

noreply@blogger.com (Neinah Avelin) — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 04:57:00 +0000

I plan to write everyday, then I get too overwhelmed with all the other stuff life throws at me... and then I just get too tired... I'm generally not a flakey person, but I have to admit I'm having a tough time keeping up with my "daily practice and commitment.." of writing each day... Ah me..., at times like this, I just have to take a little time out to reflect on what I HAVE achieved (200 + posts since I started this blog!) as opposed to what I'm NOT getting done...

So..., as a continuation of my story from Willows...

...I'd taken myself up this dirt road, I don't really know why, except it just seemed to call to me..., perhaps I was hoping to spot birds, or get a breathtaking view, either way, I'm so glad I did...
Turning the car around I slowly crawled along watching nearby birds on the barbed wire, listening
to their beautiful songs and taking photo's.., as I gazed out the window in front of me, I noticed a smallish, older looking woman facing me, straddling the road and just staring at me, not in an threatening way, more of a curious..." who are you and what might you be up to kind of a stare"... I continued to take photo's from my drivers seat and finally rolled to a stop in front of her. I noticed she was wearing a pair of binoculars around her neck so instantly felt we had common ground. I told her that I was a visitor and here for the race, but escaped to go birdwatching... she then proceeded to tell me about all the places to visit where I might find huge numbers of birds, and a special place to visit Sandhill Cranes... just as I was about to thank her for her time and drive off..., she mentioned that she lived just across the road on her 15 acre farm growing her own food, and selling her own produce..., including "pomegranates".... when I heard "POMEGRANATES" I felt my self gasp in awe, and heard myself say "really..., you grow your own pomegranate trees? Can I come and see them?" And before I knew it, I'd parked the car, grabbed my camera and trotted up the driveway to see them...

For anyone who has read my blog for a while knows that I LOVE pomegranates. They are my favorite fruit... They are such beautiful icons, I love to photograph them, in fact I'm painting pomegranates in my oil painting class this week... I guess I was showing so much enthusiasm for the fruits that the woman turned to me and held up a hand and said "wait there, I'll be right back.." So I waited and photographed her farm garden which felt like a little piece of Eden... not only did she grow my favorite fruit, but it seemed like every other fruit you could imagine,,, Lemons, oranges, mandarins, persimmons....

And when she returned she handed me a glass of ruby red, freshly squeezed pomegranate juice....

...I didn't know what to say..., I was so touched.. she had literally ran into her house and squeezed my some of the best juice I've EVER tasted... She told me it was because she used both sweet and tart pomegranates, one being pink, the other red.

I was so deeply touched... we finally exchanged names... her name was "Annana - rhymes with banana she grinned..." I told her mine, and we chatted and shared some more... Two strangers but with birds and gardening, nature and life in common... I felt I could tell her pretty much anything..., she told me she was vegetarian, I told her I was gluten intolerant and had a hard time finding restaurants that served healthy food... then she asked me to follow her to the house... where she proceeded to fill up a large mason jar of cooked bean casserole, handing it to me she opened her refrigerator and handed me a container of home made coleslaw salad saying ..."here, take this for your lunch, its just pure and simple ingredients..., I made it all myself.."... I really didn't know what to say..." Thank you" seemed such a very small thing to say for what I felt was a huge offering of kindness and heart.. just five minutes before we had been total strangers, now she was feeding me home made food and well... I could have cried...

I asked if I could give her a hug (which I did,) and then asked if I could take her photo... (which she agreed to...)

My new friend Juananna with a basket of her Pink Pomegranates...

As I drove away that day, I knew I'd met an angel. I felt so very blessed and fortunate and knew that I'd been given a wonderful gift...

Have you ever met an angel who seemed to just like you for who you are right from the get go???

A Tale From Willows...

noreply@blogger.com (Neinah Avelin) — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 05:35:00 +0000

Sun dried weeds, rattle and hiss in the wind

Hi folks, I'm back to my blog, back to my friends, back to my writing... Although I miss all of it when I'm "away," I've realized that if I'm not really feeling the inspiration, I can't force myself to write about "Finding Love"... everyday... Even though most day's I feel gratitude in many ways, I sometimes don't have the creative umphhh to always share it! - such is life...

So, with that being said, this past week found CG and I attending the 25 hour enduro race at Thunderhill race track in Willows, California. As we began our 13 hour drive there, I began to muse about what we would find there, and then suddenly realized that "Willows" is THE "Willows" that Cory Amano of Tongue in Cheek blog writes about often from her home in the South of France... I recommend you view her blog as it is one of the most beautiful I've seen, and most real I've read... Click on the link below if you'd like and check it out...

http://willows95988.typepad.com/tongue_cheek/

Willows is out in the country, almost 100 miles from Sacramento. Its a place of great almond orchards, rice fields, cotton, pumpkins, citrus fruit... It has a huge bird and wildlife population. I found myself driving for miles along the backroads, every field seemed to have its own Kite or Buzzard, hovering and diving into the grasses for their lunch. (I have never visited a place that had so many birds of prey.)

In the flooded rice fields I saw flocks of Trumpeter Swans..

Traveling along one quiet lane, I spied many Western Meadowlarks..

Along this same very quiet lane I came upon an angel wearing binoculars...

I'll fill you in tomorrow...

Hugs,

Neinah

Thankful...

noreply@blogger.com (Neinah Avelin) — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 04:53:00 +0000

Taz sits at the french window, watching the first few flakes of snow...

Its been a rough few days on our little island, starting with the snow and ice blasting down from the Arctic on Monday, making for treacherous driving conditions. The day after the storm, we ventured out to buy groceries and found the roads littered with abandoned vehicles, some had slid and collided into one another, or people had simply stopped where they could rather than risking going any further and must have walked the rest of their way home.

The news reported record breaking, freezing winter temperatures (and its only November!)

The winds picked up the following day and temperatures continued to drop, the power went out in many homes and businesses including ours and was slow to come back on. The night before Thanksgiving our power returned (such a relief..., I was due to have 4 families come for dinner.) However later that evening, we discovered the pipes had frozen in our laundry room and had flooded the floor. We had to turn the water off, we had a visit from the local fire department who assured us that our burst pipes/damage was nothing compared to what they had seen over the past 24 hours...(thank goodness for small mercies...)

Thanksgiving was a bit of a challenge, as no running water meant no dishwashers, toilets flushing, etc. etc..., (things that I've so completely taken for granted for most of my life.) And sadly, several guests were not able to make the dinner due to their own set of difficulties caused by the winter storm...

However, despite the setbacks, I felt very thankful... I had both my children at home (which always puts me in a joyful, contented mood), the power/heat was back on, we had shelter protecting us from the elements.

A great fire roared in the hearth (I always feel a sense of well being when we have a good fire blazing.)

And we had an abundance of tasty, healthy, delicious food and... each other...:)))))

How was your thanksgiving???

It Would Seem That Winter Has Arrived...

noreply@blogger.com (Neinah Avelin) — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 03:54:00 +0000

Standing outside yesterday and looking up into the leadened sky, I noticed occasional, tiny white specks of something strange and unexpected floating lazily down to settle onto leaves and branches... I thought at first I was seeing ash from the chimney - perhaps from the burning inferno we had going in the fireplace...

But on closer examination, I saw the specks disappear... It was trying to snow... I didn't think it was time yet, or cold enough...)

Well, today it persevered and has settled in places, and has caused much anguish for drivers on the road...

I came home early with the pups, to make sure we didn't get stuck. After gathering wood for the inferno... I took a few minutes to photo the white wonder that used to be the garden...

Frosting on the Calicarpa berries...

Down the driveway towards the road where cars slip and slide down the hill.

Snow-topped pumpkins on the front steps.

Perhaps this year we'll have a White Thanksgiving???

Here's a beautiful Mary Oliver poem to celebrate the first snow...

First Snow
by Mary Oliver

The snow
began here
this morning and all day
continued, its white
rhetoric everywhere
calling us back to why, how,
whence such beauty and what
the meaning; such
an oracular fever! flowing
past windows, an energy it seemed
would never ebb, never settle
less than lovely! and only now,
deep into night,
it has finally ended.
The silence
is immense,
and the heavens still hold
a million candles, nowhere
the familiar things:
stars, the moon,
the darkness we expect
and nightly turn from. Trees
glitter like castles
of ribbons, the broad fields
smolder with light, a passing
creekbed lies
heaped with shining hills;
and though the questions
that have assailed us all day
remain - not a single
answer has been found -
walking out now
into the silence and the light
under the trees,
and through the fields,
feels like one.

o ~ O ~ o

Chinese Lanterns...

noreply@blogger.com (Neinah Avelin) — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 03:50:00 +0000

Here's a few photo's of one of my favorite flowers of the season...

Chinese Lanterns ~ Physalis alkekengi

Flowering in late summer then developing these fruits in October, turning from green to brilliant orange... they truly are stunning to look at.

Physalis is actually a herb, related to potatoes, and tomatoes..., its also known as "Winter Cherry," its fruit is harvested for its high vitamin C content, but can be toxic if not fully ripe, its known for its inflamation-reducing and , cough suppressing qualities and has been used to treat many other varied symptoms... (such as bedwetting!!!) I love learning about the herbal lore of plants grown right under our noses, don't you?

However, I'm not in any hurry to chomp these fruit, but they are so very photogenic..., don't you think?

Look what happens to the outer papery skin as it ripens...

All that is left is skeleton like outer shell, cage like holding the little orange like fruit in the center.

Do you have a favorite Fall flower?