Ready or Not

New adventures seem to be coming my way
nevermid if I am ready, or not...

Bits and Pieces

image from etsy artist available here http://www.etsy.com/listing/80949996/chicago-original-collage

I am determined to form the year ahead of me into shapes and adventures that thrill and satisfy
but for now it is all still bits and pieces.
what do I want to do? What do I want to learn? Where do I want to go?
How do I want to celebrate and what do I want to take into my soul?
Questions, and snips of paper- but no answers yet.

My cup overfloweth

 

One of the best things about seeing an exhibition, especially like the Magritte in Vienna--

is the change in views and perspective. 

Happy 2012!

A new year is upon us. 

May it be filled with clouds in our cups,

blue skies overflowing,

and amazing new ideas and dreams come true.

glittering final hours

We made it. the Last few hours of this the last day of 2011.
What a year it was.
We survived and I think the challenges of this year have made us all a little bit stronger.
There was sadness, loss, and struggle.
There was also survival, growth and determination.
It was not easy.
It was not that joyful.
But we are polished and glittering from our efforts as we come to the closing hours.

Next year is ours to create.
It is ours to define.
It is ours to embrace.
Here's to love, laughter, light and lusciousness in 2012.

home and hearth

I did not write as much on my journey as I had hoped but I did relax-
and after the year that we have had I think that was job #1.

It was a trip filled with toasting and hugging and browsing and eating and twinkling and art-ing and sitting and thinking. Could not ask for much more. And still home in time to do some last days of December writing.

I am still considering 2012- Where do I want to go and what do I want to accomplish. But 2011 certainly is ending better than it was throughout.

Beautiful Branches and Luscious Lights

Revisiting a previous adventure can be more rich in detail, more magical in memory and more relaxing and fun. As my path goes back over some of the gorgeousness of a few years ago- my heart and mind are renewed and my child spirit revels. Four seasons again coming to a close. New adventures ahead. Advent indeed.

Things I love 12:17:2011

I want to start regularly writing and sharing a list of things I think are just so wonderful that I want to tell everyone I know. I did this once before but want to do it more regularly!

So here are some to start off with

I Love:

ETSY- really, small biz people at their finest offering unimaginable treasures.

Evernote- a great way to capture ideas, build projects, make plans. A clipping extravaganza and worth the money, Site and App both great. 

A Year Most Lovely- great journal for the year from my gorgeous, luscious, magical friend Anna.

and finally, The Christmas markets I am reveling in this week.

Magical Season

The lights twinkle softly

reflected in eyes and thoughts and laughter around me.

It's Christmas time again. 

I love it. Not for the packages and price tags

but for the merriment and warmth, the hot wine, and snuggles

the time to reflect on a year gone by and dream of one to come.

LEARN.

What lesson did you learn in 2011 from “The School of Life” rather than a classroom? #WeVerb11

I am still learning, even with less than a month to go. I think every day of this year has taught me something. Some painful lessons, some joyous ones. I think the big answer to this question is that I have learned to keep learning. That even small pieces of new information, or small ideas can make a longer term profound effect.

The school of life in 2011 was not a quiet, supportive classroom. It was rough and tumble and often outright harsh. But I am, at the end of it, still standing. And that is something.

One Word...

Encapsulate the year 2011 in one word. Explain why. Imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2012 for you?
In the spirit of where this all started… this is the same first prompt from 2010.

one word... I guess it would be Shifting. 

The patterns of our life shifted in so many ways. Cancer in the family, job changes, new challenges and the big shifting of the earth- the quake of 3/11. I felt it took months for the literal and figurative aftershocks to stop And even now,  Japan is not what it was pre-quake. It was not all bad- there were some amazing ups and downs and some progress was made- though not in the ways I had hoped or anticipated. I wanted this year to be about clarity, and I guess it was in some ways. I found myself in the position for most of the year that I had to accept that some stuff was just not going to get done. It was a year of priorities and putting out fires and that is just the way it is.

For 2012? what do I want? What one word would I like to have embodied by the end... actually I want to use weverb11 to figure that out. So I think I will keep my own council on this for now and consider a bit more. Time to think about it all.

Who did you meet?

2011 was not a year of lots of new people- it was actually a year of losses. After the earthquake on 3/11 many long time friends left and the holes are still visible. Plus a really good friend's schedule is so different now that we hang out 3-4 time a month- down from something like 2-4 times a week. Some new people came into our lives via THS- and I met Neal and the people at A-JIS in a more substantive way. But it was not a big year of new faces.

One thing that was powerful was the connections that remained after my visit to my 25th HS reunion in 2010. Because of facebook- I bump into folks online and comment and read comments from friends and classmates from a lifetime ago. I have read that this has gone on all over the planet, reuniting , and reweaving childhood memories in current times.

Because of the quake and the changes I felt deeply this year there are some special people I want to deepen my relationships with. Care and water new growing friendships, reach out to supporters and let them know I don't take them for granted. Wonderful people who have supported me in ways that I can never full repay. #reverb11

Where did 2011 begin?

It is time again for #reverb11 reflecting in the month of December on what has come and gone in 2011 and setting a course for 2012. Starting slow, but getting started. Today's first question- Where did 2011 begin?

January was full of promise, just rushed back from seeing family on a shortened trip- to start a new experiment- ultimately it did not succeed as 2011 ramped up to be an extraordinarily rocky and roller coaster-y year. The cold winter month of beginnings, I made my way to the big shrine and thought about the year to come. Change was in the air and I thought I knew the direction things were headed but I did not. I was full of emotions- full of stress and worry- trying to set a simple, clear and sustainable course. My mother's visit was a good one. And with my friend by my side we stood with thousands of people in the Japanese ritual of starting out the new year with determination. The year of the rabbit. I thought of peace, quiet, simple joys- it was instead to be a year of jumping and starting and stopping, running and skittering, staying alive in extraordinary times.



and so it began.

Counting Down and Celebrating

The Countdown has started. The tree is trimmed, the events are planned.
Now is the time it is important to remember to also take time to enjoy, breathe in the pine scented atmosphere and take good care of myself. I love the holidays but can get easily swept up in the stress and whirlwind. Cookies and milk, hot wine, and time to just watch the lights twinkle. Also take time to scheme and plan for the coming year of the dragon. I plan to breathe some fire and take flight next year. The sky is the limit.

All the Pies Are Cut

We Cut all the pies. Served all the birds. Whipped all the cream.
I am satisfied and proud. I think we made many people happy.
It was great seeing friends, families and colleagues come together.
Sharing stories and bottles of rich red wine.
I am thankful for all of this. And so much more.

Is it time yet?

I don't usually have christmas stirrings until after Thanksgiving. This year I am feeling urges early. Still loving this turkey-week BUT I have put on the christmas lounge music a little earlier than normal. Not sure why. I am also a bit eager to get to the end of 2011 with all it's ups and downs, and turn a new page for 2012.

Cloudy Rainy Brain

Layers of cloud cities stretching off into the distance. Rainy Cloudy Brain day- Not sure what to do first and how to get it all done. Plus the desire to nap keeps distracting me. Resist!

shorter days and longer nights

The days are getting shorter- and Just at a time when I need every second of every minute of every hour to get as much done as I can. The nights are getting longer- and yet it gets harder to rouse myself in the early hours. But all of it is wrapped in a delicious layer of late autumn sights, smells and of course tastes. I had my first mikan (japanese tangerines) and my first persimmon is waiting for me, a larger harvest moon of sweetness. Today I had my first inklings of holiday happiness.

2 1/2 action packed years

When I think about the last two 1/2 years and try to figure out what has happened and what it all means, I come to the conclusion that more than any time in my recent past- this past 30 months have been all about doing stuff I had no idea how to do. Sometimes doing it successfully, sometimes not so much. But doing lots of learning all along the way. I have made some HUGE mistakes- and hopefully have learned from them. And I have pushed the boundaries of what I thought I could do. I hope I can keep doing that for as long as I am here.

Add one cup of fun and stir with vigor

Being around kids is the best reminder of how to have fun.
I watched them yesterday taking big bites of life and savoring every minute.
At first they didn't quite know which way to look or where to go. But that didn't last long.
Then the whirlwind began. Oh, and at the end of the day for the middle ones- there was dancing
and revelry. 

My Life has a Big Deliciousness

I love wine-ing and dining
And I love watching people enjoy our food
Never get tired of feeding hearts, minds and souls.
This kind of experience is why we do what we do.
And I revel in it.