Giraffes, Wagers & Dream Chasing

Manuella Stefani, 18 years old, from Rio De Janeiro, Brazil did this giraffe.
It is one in a million and it's beautiful : )


A young spirit has taken on a bet that she could gather One Million Giraffes within a limited amount of time.
She has about a year and a half to go and she has almost 1/4 of her Giraffes.
Not only do I think all kids should be supported on personal quests, objectives and goals... I think she has collected some awesome works.
All of the different shapes and forms, all the different things with which people make their giraffes.... simply awesome.

When I heard about this kids mission from Mel , I never imagined that on Saturday night I would be sitting around the house with good company, grilling out good food, making drip candles & doodling giraffes...


Imagination really is the only limitation and dreams are meant for chasing...

Faeries Wear Boots, You Gotta Believe Me...

Going to a concert this weekend with some friends...
Good times, good company ahead
We won't be listening to anything that sounds like this...
but
I do love Faeries, I do love boots & I love to believe...

Oh yeah, and I love good old fashioned classic rock...

Soaring between Heaven and Earth

I stepped out onto the curb and looked up.
The sky was a hazy blue and the sun was tearing through any faint clouds that paraded between she and I.
I saw him coming from off in the distance.
Strong. Steady.
He came right towards me, took a sudden dip, did one large circle and sailed on...
I watched in awe, as it's been a while, I think since last June since I have seen a hawk swoop down over me.
His wings seemed as wide as I am tall.

"I just know this means something"

According to Native American cultures, the Hawk represents messages. Hawks have the ability to move between the seen and the unseen, the physical and the spiritual, the past and the future... they are excellent at catching the bigger picture.
They represent unification with the Great Spirit and a time for one to re-evaluate and re-align their spiritual goal and their physical behaviors.

I think that Hawk was a messenger moving between the seen and unseen, the physical and the spiritual, the past and the future.
I think he was sent to me, in hopes, wants and wishes that I would pick up on his message...

John knew what I know, but now he has gone away
but he's not gone far...the Heavens are closer than we know.
I think he called upon his Nana and mine, Courtney & Crunch and any other beings he could to send that Hawk to me....so that I could work with him, on this end.

This moment is what holds our yesterday and tomorrow together...let us enjoy it.
Heaven and Earth are right here, right now coexisting and living together in more peace than most of the people on this planet. May our spirits and our bodies coexist in peace and love, as the Heavens do with the Earth...right here, right now.
Energy never dissipates, it merely changes form.
Just because one doesn't see it, does not mean it does not exist... may we all open our eyes a little bit more.

Life is for living...learning...loving.

She seems hard, weathered and rough.
Her words can strike people as abrasive.
Stockings are only for weddings and funerals...
She's opinionated, outspoken and quick to jump to conclusions.
Sometimes wrong but always sure
Strong, devoted & defiant
A mouth like a sailor, a temper to boot but a heart of gold
She always speaks the truth, as she sees it...
subject to change and all.
And this is why I love her...

There's no guarantees.
He lay in ICU...11 months into stage four.
Pneumonia. Infection. Lung Cancer.

She cries...
'I wish I would die right now & he could just come back home.'

There are no guarantees.
Planes crash into houses.
Kids wrap themselves around telephone poles.
Mother's stick little heart shaped stickers on their babies mouths.

We can never predict.
We can never tell from one moment what the next may hold.

May we never forget to value each moment and take them just as they come...
one by one and subject to change...

One Moon & A Million Moods

Thoughtful & sincere ... a sweet soul, dear to me, sent this to my way.


If you found yourself captivated by the world she stirs...there is also this fanciful & imaginative little poem by Zora Bernice May Cross, which you might enjoy.

The New Moon

What have you got in your knapsack fair, White moon, bright moon, pearling the air Spinning your bobbins and fabrics free, Fleet moon, sweet moon, in to the sea? Turquoise and beryl and rings of gold Clear moon, dear moon, ne’er to be sold? Roses and lilies, romance and love, Still moon, chill moon, swinging above? Slender your feet as a white birds throat, High moon, shy moon, drifting your boat Into the murk of the world awhile, Slim moon, dim moon, adding a smile. Tender your eyes as a maiden’s kiss, Fine moon, wine moon, no one knows this, Under the spell of your witchery, Dream moon, cream moon, first he kissed me. Zora Bernice May Cross Austrailia (1890-1964)

Artwork By Singleton of JustGiveMePeace

Tin Foil Spit Balls & Tying Ones Hair in Knots

Twelve years old and yet again at another new school...I shuffled from class to class.
Fourth period...last class before last lunch, my lunch.

I recognized her from homeroom, but we still did not speak.
She sat in front of me & I noticed she carried her lunch in a brown paper bag.

Every two or three minutes, she'd pivot around, lock eyes with me and carefully place one small round tinfoil ball in the carved out notch for holding pens and pencils in my desk.
I spoke not.
Once there was five or six tinfoil balls, she stopped.

Close to the end of class, as our teacher was etching out mathematical equations on the chalkboard and everyone was hand-cramped frantic jotting notes from the board, she spun around and locked eyes with me one more time.
I watched.

As Mr Reeves, our teacher, spun back around to face the class a tinfoil ball bounced off his cheek.
Ninety percent of the class didn't even see it, but I did.
Before I had time to think, I let out a belly-laugh of astronomic proportions.
The class sat in silence.

New to the school, new to the class, I covered my face, not giggling but undeniably laughing, ''I am sorry, I am so sorry. It wasn't me. I am so sorry.''

Mr. Reeves face was the color of crimson tide as he charged down my aisle and eyed the pile of tinfoil balls lined up in my pencil holder.
The wide eyed girl in front of me never laughed and never turned around.
I didn't even bother trying to explain.
I took the punishment that came my way.

Then, day after day, I sat silently behind that girl and one strand at a time, one day at a time I commenced to tying her hair in knots.
Tiny little knots.

Finally, one day, she spun back around...'Are you doing something to my hair?'
'Yes.'
'What are you doing?'
'I'm tying it in knots.'

She bellowed out in laughter...
I joined her.
Thus began the first of many detentions she and I would ultimately serve together and of course, our friendship.

We should never be afraid to laugh ;)

Outsider Hippie Art Compliments of Sister Sing and Just Give Me Peace

A skinny little blonde from the south & an irish-italian redhead from Brooklyn.
A quaint, elite little bistro with white linens & cummerbunds.
We crossed our legs and sat up straight...
This was an indulgence, a treat, a break from 'Tony's Famous One Dollar Slice'
Armed with twenty-two dollars and a good attitude, we aimed to live large....at least for the night.
Opening the menu and seeing twenty-seven dollar plates and fourteen dollar appetizers...
We lost our appetites for dinner.
Okay.
Reality check & giggles.
Two espressos.
One slice of fresh new york cheesecake.
Mmmmm....
We savored it.....
We made each moment, each sip of thick, rich, chalky coffee & each dip of the fork last as long as we possibly could.
We giggled & chatted.
The cheesecake was so rich & the espresso so delectable that we found ourselves sitting with an inch or two of cheesecake left & two mini, empty coffee cups.
No one noticed.
We chatted & giggled some more.
We wanted more espresso.
Finally, we flipped our cups.
A cummerbund passed and took a step back, aiming to fetch our cups & saucers.
'That's okay....you can leave them.'
More giggles, more chatter, another sliver of cheesecake down.

Our cummerbund came by 'Are you ladies alright?'
'Yes...may we have two more espressos please?'
He went for our upturned cups & red quickening snapped her hand down upon his.
'Thank you. They can stay.'
He walked away and we giggled some more.
Sliding our cups & saucers from to another, we flipped our cups back over.
'Oh my Skinny! I see a group of people...you are going to go to a concert or a party!'
'Oh Yeah! Look! You have waves on your cup...you will be grounded at the ocean.'
'Hell yes! I'm gonna move right to the beach...look someone in the group is holding a guitar...you are going to meet a musician!'
'Wonderful! We will come see you at the beach...'
We went on & on & on ... loving every minute of it.
The cummerbunds stood by the espresso machine...grinding, whirling and watching.
Finally, our cummerbunds arrived with two more espressos
'Ladies, do you mind if I ask what you are doing?'
'Well, we are reading our espresso spots.'
'Really?'
'Really.'
'Can you really do that?'
'We really can...in fact, we just did.'
More giggles.
About ten minutes later, we asked for our tab and our cummerbund hesitated.
'If you can read my spots, I will comp your last round.'
....giggles
'Okay.'
So we did.
Whatever we saw in those coffee spots we shared.
Imagination ... a beautiful thing.
Dribbles became leashes.
Splatters became feuds.
We saw broken down cars and immaculate spaces,
suffocating situations,burdens lifted, long walks, short trips...
lots of people doing lots of things.
Our cummerbund saw his life spill onto a mini saucer and from our lips.
We giggled. He comped.
We tipped him big & he sent us to the jazz bar around the corner for another round on the house.

If you can imagine it...
if you can believe it...
it can be real.

Oh yeah, I will meet you at the beach anytime...

I met a man around the Fourth of July.
I called him Freedom.
He called me a Beautiful Soul.
He was young, well-employed, tall, and handsome with dark hair & light eyes.
We never did anything but talk.
I told him about my upcoming divorce.
He told me about his recent one.
He told me that he had screwed up with his ex-wife by fooling around on her.
He said he did it to stroke his ego.
He told me that if my husband said he loved me (he did)...
that if my husband said he would change his lying & cheating ways (he did)...
that perhaps, I should give him a second chance. (I did)

On the day of my divorce, Freedom called.
He wanted to see me & I said 'no.'

'Freedoms just another word for nothing left to lose'

but you can not lose what you never had.

This Can Fly

I met this guy in high school & while I clearly remember his poetic blue eyes that teared up when he laughed & his-ever-so-serious its-the-end-of-the-world attitude, I had no idea how our lives would cross again and again. He became one of my best friends.
But time brings change.
After his time in the Marines & his first failed marriage, we quickly bonded again...spending day after day entertaining ourselves in the simplest of fashions...usually soul-searching.
Then, one Sunday night we went out & at the end of the night he told me he was leaving in two days for Virginia...to do the 'right' thing.
The next day I bought him 'Where the Sidewalk Ends' by Shel Silverstein.
I stuck a small note in the cover... 'Call me if you need me or ever just want to'
and I never heard from him again.
I moved away, went to college and graduated.
Years and years later, I saw him... on a Monday night.
He was renting, along with another guy from high school, a 5 bedroom, 4 story house in the city.
Tuesday night, I started moving in. An inverted Three's Company.
The timing was perfect for me & over the course of the next 3 years, I found these two to be some of the best room-mates I had ever had.
I also found one of my best-friends all over again.
Then one day, I told them I was moving out.
Shortly thereafter, they each moved their own way.
Each of us soon met our spouses-to-be.
My husband, then my fiancee, and I invited my friend over to cook-out. My husband had met him before, but he, nor I , had met his recent girlfriend quickly turned wife.
He said he'd call back.
The next night my phone rang.
It was him & he sounded hysterical. He was begging me & pleading with me, asking me to please explain, telling me I didn't understand, she didn't understand...
And I didn't understand. His speech was definitely impaired by his upset-edness.
Then he said 'I love her...please explain our relationship honestly to her' and he passed the phone to one unwilling listener.
My heart broke for him. She was fit for Jerry Springer, she was so upset with her missed convictions
I told her we had never been anything but friends. She said 'Impossible! High school? Living together!'
I told her I had seen him through girlfriends & marriages, the Marines & job changes. Dripping with sarcasm, she said 'I'm sure that's not all you've seen'
I told her that he was a dear friend & that a friend of his was a friend of mine & she said 'whatever!'
I told her I was engaged & that the only reason I had called the night before was to invite them over for a cook-out...where she could meet my fiancee. She said 'Likely story!'
I even put my fiancee on the phone with her.
She asked him if I put him up to it & if he was really some gay neighbor getting paid to lie.
I took the phone back and asked to speak back to my friend one last time.
She cussed as she flung the phone at him.
I told him that this was the end of the sidewalk for us for now & that should he ever need me or even just want to, to call me. I'd always support him on his choices. He was a good man and a good friend.
He said 'Thanks for understanding.'
And that was truly the last time I ever spoke to him.
That was almost five years ago.
I would've known him twenty-five years now.
If his wife is still his wife, I hope she knows that none of us ever lied to her... and most importantly, he didn't lie.
We were only friends... Mitch Jolley & I.
I hope he knows that the only reason I let it go like that was because although we were only friends, I considered him to be one of my best friends & I loved him... and he had married her & she would never understand... we were only friends.

Pictures

I miss a lot of you very much.... I'm here, just wallowing around in my own world for a bit. I miss the great escape I have found in bouncing into some of your worlds & I just love that I so often learn so much about myself, while reading about you.
Until I get a chance to devote several hours to bouncing around & reading, I thought I'd share some of the prettier & more picturesque stuff from my recent wallowings with you ;)

These are rocks gathered throughout North Georgia by me & my DH. The large white conch shell is said to be about 100 years old. The rocks & shells are all grandfathers.


These guys were happy to join me in the fresh clean water, once everything was all
said & done. Pond has about 13-14 goldfish in it now & one devoted stray cat which lives in the shrubs...of course, the birds and neighborhood dogs love to come visit.



These rocks are so that if a bird should fall in, he might could climb up to a dry spot to take flight from... this heart shaped rock was one of many found so far this year. I knew my collection would come into good use.


The guitar-playing Ski Lodge skillet in the form of a rockin' chicken behind-bars guards the path less taken... the Gerber daisies have made there way, since this pic was taken, into the ground...but my rusty old guitar player still stands at attention.


Finally there's a good old-fashioned night out with the boys playing in the garage. Some of these fellows I have known 25 years & I always amazed at how much we have grown & changed, but I'm more amazed at how much we have remained the same.

The south rocks, the heart rocks and all of you rock... Until Next Time, P&L

No, I Didn't Really Meet Jesus at a Bar

The Caboose. A old, local landmark.
In my twenties it was a rock-n-roll club, and I beleive my sisters did the disco thing there ten years prior.
It's been a fine dining restruant & a gay night club & everything in between.
I'm not sure what it is now, but I'm sure it's still there.
While most folks my age were just getting into raves, I would love to go to the Caboose.
The Caboose was dark & murky inside.
It had a musty old smell and the carpet seemed to stick to your shoes as you walked around the bar.
Most of the folks there wore black, had long hair & tattoos.
But there was always live music & a welcoming dance floor.
There, on the dance floor you could escape the murky stench of stale beer and cigarette smoke & your shoes didn't stick to the flooring.
Wound up like a towel twisted for fly swatting, I gave it all I had.
I was there to dance.
When the band breaked so did I, running to the bar & restroom.
Apparently, I cut too close to the corner of the bar on one of my trips in between songs.
I felt my hip clip something as I rounded it.
Then I saw him... flat on his back...knocked from his stool like a fly.
With his breath knocked out of him, disoriented & dazed, he muttered something and reached up.
I took hold of his hands.
He was so calm & never bug-eyed me.
He said 'What happened?'
I began with a ramble & ended in a whisper...
'I can't beleive I just knocked you down, I am so sorry.
I was walking too fast & I didn't see you.
My hip, your knee...
I am so sorry, really, I didn't see you.
And now that I do, I think you look like Jesus'

We never know how we may meet someone.

Artwork compliments of my sweet soul sister:)