Month: July 2022

By the time you read this, I will be safely in Grammy Land!

The Legendary Husband and the big beasties will be home, holding the fort.

For today, though, the list is long. And part of it is kind of a revelation!

Laundry??? Very most favorite paint shirts, leggings, and a bit of BlueFish stuff (also paint spattered) just in case.

The magic denim vest – aka wearable purse – complete with intentionally opinionated, fiercely compassionate buttons.

Two pairs of shoes. One for airport security. One for actual – you know – walking.

More assistive devices than I would choose in fantasy land, but I really, really need to hug my kids!

All the miracles of modern science required to be “gone” for several days.

And enough crucial other stuff to require up-sizing the luggage choice…

Red thread. Anointing essential oils. My collection of crystal and artisan beads, so the girls can teach me to make jewelry. And books, of course. Where the Crawdads Sing, The Book of Love, and something about Jim Henson, with Muppets and art. (Also, there are bookstores there!)

Reliable rumor has it that, in addition to trying out a new recipe from The French Laundry Cookbook, there are lessons in molecular gastronomy awaiting me. (Dave is not so much for making jewelry!)

I have signed a bunch of petitions and emailed a bunch of senators. Mine & the rest of the gang. I imagine you can guess!

The dog food elves delivered last week so canine starvation is unlikely, even though Phoebe would tell you a different story if you asked.

In a lot of ways, things feel chaotic to me.

And, yet, I know an old, old story about the creation which is born in chaos.

Which may just explain why the bubbly, fountain-y sensation inside me feels like progress on my path… my Epic SuperPower Path which seems to be leading me in the direction of becoming my own Medicine Basket! Are you… making progress???

Would you like to make more progress??? I can help! Just click… READY!

ps… in honor of my trip to the D.C. neck of the woods, here’s another opportunity to get your very own “able to choose” tank top! Several colors. Lots of sizes. And still 20% off, along with everything else! But hurry!!! Christmas in July ends Sunday at 11:45pm ET. (Go figure elves!)

My dear friend and mentor, the late Dr. H. Stephen Glenn, was the first one who told me about the rate at which world knowledge doubles.

Nope! Don’t run… this is cool and important!

(First, though, let’s pause long enough for me to admit that I’ve not yet managed to wrap my head around the way one would go about doing the math on such a thing! And, it’s still useful…)

Anyway, as the story – associated with R. Buckminster Fuller – goes, prior to 1900 (CE), human knowledge doubled about every century. Then, by about 1945, it was doubling closer to every 25 years!

Then, by 1982, all human knowledge was doubling every 12 – 13 months.

And, yes, I’m dizzy, too!

I remember a speech during President Obama’s second campaign (2012) in which he said that half of the kids starting kindergarten that year would enter the work force in a job that hadn’t been invented yet!

Time out for mind-boggled!

All of this has to do with a theory called Knowledge Half-Life, which means, as I understand it, the length of time it takes for half the knowledge of a particular area/subject becomes out of date and replaced by new information! (Fritz Machlup)

All of which is to say that facts change all the time!

Think of how much more we know since we started receiving images from the James Webb Space Telescope!!!

Yes, dear hearts, that blows my mind. It also matches my experience!

You may be wondering why this, just now…

Glad you asked!

You see, I’ve been relating to this whole knowledge doubling thing for 40-some years now.

In about the last 72 hours, though, it’s become real for me in a whole new way!

I won’t bore you with all the nitty gritty.

Let’s just say that I discovered that this new knowing bit can work for inside knowing, in the same way that engineers learn new things and our outside toys become obsolete!

Specifically, I’m in the middle of a major revelation about knowing. (And paint!)

The inside kind counts, too! The kind where every cell in your body lights up with something new, which just might be something, well… old!

And, then, if you’re like me, a whole lot of need for new outside knowing appears, too!

Lots of how? stuff. And in what sequence?

Yes, processing is in order. And, it may well feel different!

It also feels, at least for me just now, exciting! (Details to follow…)

For this moment, though, a question…

What old learning might you be holding tight to that isn’t serving you and your journey???

Or, if that’s a scary place to start, how about…

What new learning might you experiment with that might serve you better, now?

Curious???

CLICK HERE, even if it’s scary! Maybe especially if it’s scary! New questions and lots of support…

Why???

The clearer we get on our path, the more we can help!

ps… according to the calendar, it’s almost the end of Christmas in July at FierceArtWithHeart! Someone you know needs a gift that’s hiding here – maybe even you! The elves will be delighted to do the math and take 20% off everything, including super-gift matted art cards by the bundle. Please don’t miss out! (And, for the dedicated explorers… very cool hats!)

Nope! The Legendary Husband has not changed his name!

This is a frequent saying from my Farm Gramma, Elsie.

She was a weaver of stories, many of them about the trouble her five boys were out causing while she and Grampa Frank were sleeping, probably under a quilt like this one, which Elsie pieced.

Legend does not mention whether my Aunt Mary joined in the mischief, but I wouldn’t rule it out!

I never knew Frank. He was killed in a train accident years before I was born. Mostly what I know was that Gramma quit high school, forfeiting her long-promised graduation gift of gold beads, to marry him. And this – the much quoted line from their engagement announcement in the local paper…

Elsie Hanna Royce… is engaged to marry Franklin Cornelius Boardman who is, of all things, a Democrat!

As you might imagine, I’ve been pondering all of this a lot.

So, last night, I wrote about 1,000 words worth of what I’ve been pondering.

And, after that, when me and Bill were home abed… Grandmother Moon, got into the conversation.

After assuring me that all those words worth of writing (and a bit of ranting!) were perceptive – and no doubt helpful to me in the writing – she wondered, gently, if they felt like they’d be as helpful for you as they were for me.

It was a good question!

And there was still time to visit dream-land again, with her shining courageously, even in this waning crescent phase, over the bed.

What came to me was a jigsaw puzzle of wondering.

Had Elsie, perhaps, been trying to pretend she didn’t know what was going on because she didn’t know what to do with it?

And how might we, all these years later, be trying – at whatever level of awareness – to do the same?

And, if so, what is it time for us to see?

Now, please hear me say that the part of me that’s wondering these things isn’t shaming or blaming me or you!

It’s just noticing that, for generation upon generation, part of the survival medicine in our baskets has seemed to be along the lines of not causing trouble or making a fuss.

And, if you’re anything like me, noticing that the time for not making a fuss has come and gone can feel more than a bit terrifying.

Which is about where I woke up for the second time today.

And, I did the usual things…

Tea. Big dogs out and back in. My time for being and learning and praying.

And List Time. You know… crossing things off & adding things on!

And some time to be in circle with friends on the road. Friends who love questions, too. Here are a couple more:

How might it serve you to be awake?

To be less consciously home abed?

To allow yourself to know?

To allow yourself to move in the direction of being fully you?

And what, then, might you do?

It seems entirely likely to me that the answers to what we will do will go down in our personal histories as the Epic SuperPower Paths we walked. And, just in case you’re the type who’d rather not walk alone, I can help! CLICK HERE!

ps… there are fabulous one-of-a-kind purses in Hat Heaven, too! And Christmas in July is running out! Caution, though… as accessories go, these are VERY brave!

What a tale my thoughts would tell!”

Time out! So, the rest of that song really doesn’t work for this story, but, feel free to hum along if you like…

Let’s just say that today, even though I couldn’t see it, my mind was feeling a bit like the painting looks! Kind of like a journey with no clear beginning or end, that ventured into some unexplored places.

A journey through new filters and beliefs. Through new perceptions and world views.

One of today’s stops along the way was in the land of Red Thread Circles. Four women. All of us on the road to being certified Red Thread leaders.

For two of us, practice leading. For all four of us, practice learning. Here are two of the big ah-ha’s for me…

One of my sisters was leading a conversation about creativity and the challenges of talking with people whose perspective is, “But, I’m not creative!”

[Pause for the voices in your head to have their moment…]

Then, we came to the question of how we might talk with children about creating, which is a question I just love!

My answer was immediate and intuitive. “Creating is making something that wasn’t before.”

Art, music, words, gardens, quilts, muffins…

(And, in my world, we do this in partnership with the Divine.)

Trust me when I say that I was grateful for this ah-ha before it was my turn to lead!

You see, I had a plan. (A plan I’d tested before!) It involved questions. My asking them, and all of us exploring our answers.

Guess what!

There were more answers than I’d planned for! Some of which involved a bit of adapting, mid-flow!

Sharing the details might be telling stories which aren’t my own, so I’ll go with this…

Where I wound up was walking my own talk about one of my SuperPowers… modeling.

About creating something that wasn’t before, even when it wasn’t the plan. And being okay with the seeming detour on the way to the place we were really meant to go.

And, maybe – just maybe – helping others along the way.

Frankly, I feel like I’m spending a whole bunch of time in places I’ve never been before, and I’m en-couraged!

We are – when we allow ourselves to notice – all in a place we’ve never been before, and I suspect this journey is going to take a whole lot of new possibilities.

Which, when we get right down to it, is exactly what I’m so hoping to help my girls learn!

And here’s a different bit you may not know… many, many moons ago, I was a surgical scrub nurse. And I’ve actually seen and felt living brains!

Frankly, they’re not much to look at. And it’s kind of a miracle that any noticing and wondering at all happens in there!

That being said, I’m pretty sure that there were places in my brain which were lit up and glowing today. New little paths being created along the way. And that feels like a really good day’s creating!

May it be so for all of us. Soon!

ps… curious about letting your SuperPowers out to play? Take a deep breath and CLICK HERE!

pps… as promised, the fabulous, one of a kind hats and purses – each with their own name – are ready for new homes! And, it’s Christmas in July, so it’s a great time to explore! The elves are waiting with bated breath to help, at FierceArtWithHeart!

There’s a lot going on in my world, just now. Inner and outer!

Grandmother Moon and her team are staying quite busy trying to sort it all in my dreams.

Yesterday morning I woke with a crazy quilt of tiny bits of thoughts in my head… kind of like dandelion fluff.

Frankly, not all of it was fun. For this moment… some of what was!

Let me say, first, that classical dream interpretation is not exactly my professional area of expertise. What you’re about to hear is the noticing & wondering perspective that’s way more me.

I remember tossing and turning a lot. One of those can’t get settled experiences.

And, then, scraps of a story in my head. A dimly familiar story. So dimly, I had to look it up. And, yes, the title was a clue!

Caps for Sale: A Tale of a Peddler, Some Monkeys and Their Monkey Business by Esphyr Slobodkina, was first published in 1938.

Born in Siberia, in 1908, the author immigrated to the USA on a student visa and attended New York’s National Academy of Design. Eventually, she illustrated books for Margaret Wise Brown, which may be why Grandmother Moon knows her!

Ms. Brown was the author of the classic, Goodnight Moon!

There’s more, though.

You see, my task of this moment is a photo shoot for adding my bespoke hand-knitted and felted hats to FierceArtWithHeart! (Purses, too!)

This is less straightforward than taking photos of paintings. Hats don’t seem to want to just hang on the wall. (At least mine don’t!)

Kudzu was my obvious next move.

Not the enthusiastic plant. The famed neighborhood vintage and collectibles store I adore, which is also a great place for a stroll with air conditioning! I’ve missed them during the stay-at-home spell we’ve been having.

My challenge quickly changed from, Will there be anything that will work? to How will I choose?

And so I wandered. Walking stick. Magic denim vest, complete with MOO cards, measuring tape, and a Good Trouble button!

I made the first loop, you know… noticing and wondering.

And doing math!

The answer to my favorite question – What am I trying to accomplish? – was kind of complicated.

Props for a mythical photo shoot.

Things that would still be welcome and useful after the pics were taken!

And, the big one… Something that would help express the real me. The learning, growing me.

A bit like being naked with a hat on!!!

And, I was truly surprised by what followed me home!

But, with apologies to Ms. Slobodkina, no monkeys! (Though, if I had a sock monkey handy, I might make an exception!)

Now, in case you’re wondering, this isn’t a parable!

I really do want to find homes for a small collection of divine hats and purses.

More than that, I want to set their energy loose in the world! You see, they were knitted with prayer knots, back before I knew about prayer dots!

Knots for hope. And peace. The power of voice. And choice. Of being who we are!

Round and round.

Meditation.

Steps on my path to now. And, I hope, into my dreams for the future, which have gotten a bit bigger and more adventurous just recently!

It may seem like an odd business strategy, but it’s real for me! And, quite possibly, for a very few special folks with the vision to really see something magical out of almost nothing.

I’ve made a whole lot of progress… with huge help from The Legendary Husband! Not quite enough help, yet, to have all the fabulous listings active tonight. So, a hint!

Hats and purses with names! Sophia and Diana and Iris and Frida and a couple of less familiar ones like Garsenda – or Garsinde – depending on where you’re from. Named for several of my grandmothers!

And huge thanks… You inspire me!

ps… not sure what’s next for you? I can help! Start here…

pps… there’s lots of very exciting art ready for new homes, already! And, in honor of some up-coming Red Thread Circle practice groups, great mugs for a cuppa! It’s Christmas in July and everything is 20% off!!!

What do you do to take care of you?

Really!

Please make space for a couple of deep breaths while you claim an answer… or six!

One of my answers is learning new things.

Nope. Not algebra formulas or batting averages. Not the names of top runway models. Not even the hottest shoes of the moment.

It’s not that I’m opposed to any of those things. It’s just that they’re not my things.

Painting is another of my answers. Not just the finished product, but the journey! And the sharing.

Bone broth is another, for me. Tending it in the enormous pot locally known as the cauldron. Breathing it in. Filling my belly and my soul with the magic of abundance out of almost nothing. Sharing it.

Being INTENTIONAL is a really, really big thing for me.

Intentional about how much news to let in, and when to say enough.

Intentional about spiritual practices… chosen ones, from different times and places.

Even intentional about signs in our garden and tank tops in my closet and buttons on my magic vest.

And intentional about holding on and letting go.

Actually, that last one is pretty big.

Holding on and letting go.

Fears. Old stories. Precious memories. Dreams. Learned limitations.

Which, when you get right down to it, is a whole lot like being …able to choose!

That’s a notion which has been important to me for quite a while, now. And – as you’ve probably guessed – it feels more urgent in this moment than before.

What feels that way for you? Important? Urgent? (Or, at least, time sensitive?)

I’m hoping that speaking out is on your list. And, yes, it can be scary. But, so is not speaking out!

Words are an obvious way of speaking out.

Images are another. A way I’m owning more and more!

And time!

I’ve made a new deal with my calendar.

Way more time for my list. What I love & feel called to do.

Considerably less time for the list. What I should do.

Oh, I still brush my teeth and stop for people in crosswalks. You know…

And I’ve moved some things from one list to the other.

Voting is an example of moving things.

I used to do it because, well, we should.

After my girls came along, it moved to the list of things I feel called to do.

(Along with emailing politicians and en-couraging others to vote!)

You see, a huge part of Grammy-ing, in my heart, is showing the less&less-Littles that they make a difference.

And showing them what that might look like!

Now, your list is probably different – at least in some ways – because it’s yours.

Here’s what I do know…

If you don’t take care of you – if you don’t honor your journey and your dreams – it’s going to be really hard for you to feel like you’re mattering.

And, if this world is going to work better, we all need to feel like we’re mattering… hopefully, for Love!

ps… if figuring out how to matter YOUR way seems way too big to do alone, START HERE! It will help! And give us some things to talk about, should you be curious about more help along the way.

pps… and, because images DO help, it’s Christmas in July at FierceArtWithHeart! Inspiration – all of it – for 20% off! Quantities, however, are limited so shop early and the elves will do the math automatically. (And, if you know somebody searching for inspiration, please share this invitation!)