inspiration

from Echo Valley Farm

"I wrote the piece below about 10 years ago. I had been working with my Navajo mentor and friend, Annie, and I recognized the preciousness of what she was sharing. Happily that learning continues.

As I heard of The International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers and recently listened to some of them speak via phone conference, I was again touched by the simple and heartfelt request for Love and Peace to return to our people and the earth.

To these Grandmothers and to all who hold the candle of Remembrance, I offer this:

There was a time when a council of Grandmothers was called to decide if war was imminent.

There was a time when women knew the herbs and the healing rhythms of song.

There was a time when the monthly cycle of blood was honored as the mystery it is,

And a time when menopause was called the "Second Spring".

There was a time when women gathered for support and comfort...

There was a time when the earth was revered.

There was a time we honored all that we took from her,

And did all that we could to remain in harmony.

There was a time we knew we were one people...and then we began to forget.

We are being asked to remember.

The Old Ones are passing.

They hold out their hands.

It is time."

OFFF - second day

here's an understatement - Sunday was not as nice as saturday. it started off with drizzle, turned to rain and later in the day almost stopped dripping water from the sky. needless to say, there were far fewer people wandering about. fibers had to be crammed into the interior of the booth except for one rack which stayed outside with plastic covering it most of the time. nevertheless, there were still diehard fiber fondlers there, touching and buying.

it was a great weekend tho! when we went home saturday night, Jim had prepared a feast for us weary travelers (100 miles RT from here to Canby). so we had good food and wine and enjoyed the evening. Symeon came home with us and joined the chaos at dome central with 2 kids, 3 big dogs and 4 other adults and seemed to fit right into it all.

Kate's fibers and Symeon's book.

i love my Prius! this is average MPG for about a year. it gets around 48 in the winter because of using the heater, lights and windshield wipers. all in all, even tho i miss having my toyota pickup, i do like this car. it's comfortable, easy to drive, moves right out with attitude when i need it to and has great MPG.

OFFF - first day

Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival - and a wonderful first day it was!... with many many people wandering around the fairgrounds, more vendor booths than last year, fibers of every color and type imaginable, and of course i'd have to say (without ANY bias at all) that the Northwest Wools/Woolgatherings booth on the lawn under the big old maple tree was without doubt the most splendid of them all! the fibers were all totally amazing... and then we also had the "fiber dude" there as a knowledgeable and very helpful salesman! in all.. a fabulous day and i'm exhausted!

first photo is Symeon North author extraordinaire of Get Spun who came across the mountains from Bend to sign books and show and tell her beautiful art yarns. and Alex watched it all carefully!

Linda and Chris, the fiberdude in the booth.

Bethany sporting one of Symeon's hats.

Alex seemed to enjoy holding a very fluffy bunny, tho he did look a bit nervous about it!

it was a fine day!

words

words I never thought i'd hear!!

on Huffington Post:

Karl Rove On Christine O'Donnell: 'She Handled The Witchcraft Issue Great'

so, maybe i have a weird sense of humor... but this is funny!!

Dharma Quote of the Week

Dharma Quote of the Week

People harm others only when they are unhappy. No one wakes up in the morning and says, "I feel so great today! I think I'll go out and harm someone!" When we can allow ourselves to know the depth of the pain and confusion felt by those who have harmed us, compassion--the wish that they be free from such suffering--can easily arise. Thinking in this way does not mean whitewashing or denying harm that was done. Rather, we acknowledge it, but go beyond amassing resentment, because we know that grudges help neither ourselves nor others.

--from Working with Anger by Thubten Chodron, published by Snow Lion Publications

fibery fun for OFFF

i've been doing some serious stash diving this week, including crates of fiber in storage which i had kidded myself into believing were personal stash for future spinning! HAH! there is no bloody way in hell i could ever spin all that if i spun every day for 8 hours for as long as my gnarly hands are able to spin. does that give a picture of the vastness of my fiber holdings?? so, i've been putting some of these fibers together to have in the OFFF booth (which is actually Kate and Linda's ) booth and i'll just be hanging out there sort of as default.

i've been recycling (cleaned) plastic food containers... like the ones that designer lettuce and greens come in... and my favorite for more than 1 reason is a snack mix container from Costco. i think the fibers look pretty cool in these and hope fiber shoppers won't find it tacky.

among rediscovered treasure is sari silk thread waste, angora, tencel, glitz, mohair, lots of silk... and lots of these have found their way into fiber mixes.

i'm looking forward to OFFF next weekend and hope it won't be wet... but it is what it is and will be fun no matter what.

Kate is back from her Australia and New Zealand adventure and is fiber dyeing like a mad woman and will have a booth filled with her beautiful fibers and yarn. Linda will bring a variety of blank yarn and spinning fibers ready for dyeing and lots of yarn and goodies from her shop.

Dharma Quote of the Week

Dharma Quote of the Week

Life is a party on death row. Recognizing mortality means we are willing to see what is true. Seeing what is true is grounding. It brings us into the present and, eventually, into presence. It also brings us into our bodies, especially if we combine meditation on impermanence with an energetic awareness at the base of the spine. At first, the important thing about impermanence seems to be the limited time we have in this precious life. This is crucial and foundational, and yet it is not the whole story.

The teachings on impermanence concern the death of a self that never existed. Our sense of such a false and finite self, which initially is inseparable from our wish to practice, can dissolve. Understanding impermanence, Khetsun Rinpoche says, will lead you into the natural clarity of your own mind. To know impermanence is thus not only a path leading to what Dzogchen traditions speak of as "unbounded wholeness" (thigle nyag cig), it is also integral to that wholeness.

--from Heart Essence of the Vast Expanse: A Story of Transmission by Anne C. Klein, foreword by Adzom Paylo Rinpoche, preface by Tulku Thondup Rinpoche, published by Snow Lion Publications

good times

dear diary - (well, sometimes it feels like a "dear diary" kind of thing) - had a fabulous visit to Boise and good times with my very dear long-time best friend, Anna! she had planned some activities for us - and gave me this wonderful bag she'd made for me. it is destined to carry lots of yarn and fibers! i love the colors and the scattered embellishments....

one of the adventures was Art In The Park, a well-established art museum

event. there were at least 300 vendors, with pottery and jewelry the most represented, and a huge variety of wares in those 2 categories, covering all degrees of interest and desire for me.

and what's an art event without artful biffies?

music can be a highlight at an art festival.... this one had a one-man band. interesting.......

we did our best to get to all the vendors, but had to give up barely 1/2 way thru, when both of us had glazed looks in our eyes and were past the point of enjoying the journey! the only thing i bought was a cheezy ring which i wish i hadn't.

then we went home, put our feet up and had a cold adult beverage.

dyeing yarn... +

the last of the sock yarn i dyed... superwash merino, silk, nylon and silver. took it in to NWWools and 2 were bought as i stood there! good for the creative self to see that!

we went to the farmers' market in forest grove last Wed. and found a nice array of farm products. one booth had a table loaded with lovely big red tomatoes! they looked delectable, even tho most of them were from the greenhouse on the farm... just not enough warm nights and sunny days for field ripened tomatoes. so, guess i can kiss goodbye the hope of my abundance of green tomatoes in the garden ever getting red. ~~sigh~~

the "fresh margaritas" sign was quite tempting, but we opted to go the mediteranean restaurant and have dinner with our margaritas.

i flew to Boise yesterday for a visit with my dear friend, Anna. tomorrow we go to the Art in the Park fest. photos etc later...