I have changed something on my laptop, which of course, not knowing precisely what I am doing stops me every time I try to read my lovely friend Franca's latest blog and respond to it.
So I shall do it this way.
Franca writes of friends' deaths. And as is usual, it is an excellent read.
I am a pack rat and have most of my old address books, and when searching for a number or address, find friends who have died. In some way, I do not mind, because they bring back memory of that friend.
My father died 20 years ago this May and yet I see him flying above LA in the Tiger Moth a friend owned and took him up for a ride in, when Dad was over for my brother, David's wedding.
I am also a fan of Kahill Gibrain, although I have only read The Prophet, which I love.
Quoting from "Death" he wrote:
For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?
And what is to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?
Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.
This being Valentine's Day, my very favourite on marriage or a partnership is, (again from The Prophet)
"But let there be spaces in your togetherness, And let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another, but make not a bond of love. Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup. Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf. Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each of you be alone, Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music. Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping. For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts. And stand together, yet not too near together. For the pillars of the temple stand apart, And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow."
Monday, February 14, 2011
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Trying to get ready to visit the UK for the first time in 6 years
and thinking of all the things I have to do still!!
And so many of them are priorities - so how does that happen - procrastination and depression.
I have to help my lovely friend, Franca, who is helping me with back taxes, which have got into a state because of my mental challenges, by giving her info to help her help me! And with ptsd, my memory is not as good as it once famously was. Although perhaps the IRS will have a heart.
Get what remains of my belongings (not much after helping my brother through a dreadful custody battle - lost 90% of my furniture, including many antiques) out of storage and to a friend's garage in Palm Springs, who's kindly agreed that I can put them there, which will be a far more pleasant place than Price Self Storage.
Found rat feces in there one time and went to the desk to report that. One of the women on their staff at their possibly misnamed Help desk, actually suggested that I had brought them in! Yes, of course, I keep a whole pack of rats to just take wherever I want to!!! Fortunately, her supervisor was more sympathetic, but the feces are still in there!
What racket storage places are these days with so many people needing them because they've become homeless.
Although on the subject of rats, I once managed an act whose lead singer had a pet rat. The band was going to record at a studio, where they'd be staying for the period of recording and he asked me to phone the studio and ask their permission. Now, I had learned by that time that said rat was clean, lovable and clever, but didn't think it wise to ask a studio if we could bring one, so I told him to just take it!
Anyway, I shall be on my way in less than 2 weeks now to a beautiful old house in the Oxfordshire countryside, miles away from anything.
After 3 days of my arrival, my brother and his family will be going skiing (I must do this again sometime, although I do spend a lot of time on my butt!) and I shall be alone with a labrador puppy, ducks, chickens, rabbits and whatever other wild life live on their large piece of land.
This does include a swimming pool, however, a chilly swim is not something I am contemplating!
However, am looking forward to a week alone with time to paint, uninterrupted, except for a few friends, who'll drive to visit me there.
Intend to start on landscapes, particularly from my collection of photos taken in Tuscany. I have rather concentrated on my Whimsical Garden series, however, they are very time consuming and require minute details (just delivered a second one to doting grandparents, whose first grandchild, Lorelei now has a second one, which includes insects and rabbits and a Empire State building in the distance, which my friend tells me is a little large, however, if it had been any smaller, I am not sure anyone would recognise what it is!) and am looking forward to using a much more free style form.
I'll have to watch the weight of my baggage as my painting equipment is pretty heavy combined with books I want to take. So few clothes (my family will lend me some of theirs) as 90lbs limit doesn't allow you much.
And I know this well, having gone with my lovely niece, Vanessa to take her Dad to the airport (on his way to the UK) and found myself in front of other passengers frantically taking clothes (who'd think a man would pack so much!) and putting them on the scale to get that bag down to the required weight, while my niece and her Dad went off to buy another piece of luggage to put the clothing I had removed, in to.
A little concerned about being in an airport surrounded by people and will have my panic attack pills at hand.
And all this thinking of travelling and packing reminds me of the time when I could afford such luxuries of buying a large tapestry bag, which the salesperson had to help me carry to my car. Now that should have been a sign, you'd think! Intelligent woman running a company buys bag she can't carry without anything in it, and when she does pack it (before the days of limited weight) can't even move it off the bed! Only ever used it that one trip.
But the morning has now gone by 15 minutes. I haven't taken the walk I promised myself last night I would do first thing.
So adieu!
And so many of them are priorities - so how does that happen - procrastination and depression.
I have to help my lovely friend, Franca, who is helping me with back taxes, which have got into a state because of my mental challenges, by giving her info to help her help me! And with ptsd, my memory is not as good as it once famously was. Although perhaps the IRS will have a heart.
Get what remains of my belongings (not much after helping my brother through a dreadful custody battle - lost 90% of my furniture, including many antiques) out of storage and to a friend's garage in Palm Springs, who's kindly agreed that I can put them there, which will be a far more pleasant place than Price Self Storage.
Found rat feces in there one time and went to the desk to report that. One of the women on their staff at their possibly misnamed Help desk, actually suggested that I had brought them in! Yes, of course, I keep a whole pack of rats to just take wherever I want to!!! Fortunately, her supervisor was more sympathetic, but the feces are still in there!
What racket storage places are these days with so many people needing them because they've become homeless.
Although on the subject of rats, I once managed an act whose lead singer had a pet rat. The band was going to record at a studio, where they'd be staying for the period of recording and he asked me to phone the studio and ask their permission. Now, I had learned by that time that said rat was clean, lovable and clever, but didn't think it wise to ask a studio if we could bring one, so I told him to just take it!
Anyway, I shall be on my way in less than 2 weeks now to a beautiful old house in the Oxfordshire countryside, miles away from anything.
After 3 days of my arrival, my brother and his family will be going skiing (I must do this again sometime, although I do spend a lot of time on my butt!) and I shall be alone with a labrador puppy, ducks, chickens, rabbits and whatever other wild life live on their large piece of land.
This does include a swimming pool, however, a chilly swim is not something I am contemplating!
However, am looking forward to a week alone with time to paint, uninterrupted, except for a few friends, who'll drive to visit me there.
Intend to start on landscapes, particularly from my collection of photos taken in Tuscany. I have rather concentrated on my Whimsical Garden series, however, they are very time consuming and require minute details (just delivered a second one to doting grandparents, whose first grandchild, Lorelei now has a second one, which includes insects and rabbits and a Empire State building in the distance, which my friend tells me is a little large, however, if it had been any smaller, I am not sure anyone would recognise what it is!) and am looking forward to using a much more free style form.
I'll have to watch the weight of my baggage as my painting equipment is pretty heavy combined with books I want to take. So few clothes (my family will lend me some of theirs) as 90lbs limit doesn't allow you much.
And I know this well, having gone with my lovely niece, Vanessa to take her Dad to the airport (on his way to the UK) and found myself in front of other passengers frantically taking clothes (who'd think a man would pack so much!) and putting them on the scale to get that bag down to the required weight, while my niece and her Dad went off to buy another piece of luggage to put the clothing I had removed, in to.
A little concerned about being in an airport surrounded by people and will have my panic attack pills at hand.
And all this thinking of travelling and packing reminds me of the time when I could afford such luxuries of buying a large tapestry bag, which the salesperson had to help me carry to my car. Now that should have been a sign, you'd think! Intelligent woman running a company buys bag she can't carry without anything in it, and when she does pack it (before the days of limited weight) can't even move it off the bed! Only ever used it that one trip.
But the morning has now gone by 15 minutes. I haven't taken the walk I promised myself last night I would do first thing.
So adieu!
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