postcard from colorado (7.5.08)

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scuffed dusty thirst
twirling singing wind
water-fed growing green
quiet wide history
lumpy twisting path
squeaking unseen hunger
constant still beliefs

postcard from colorado (7.4.08)

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she whispers in the green and the wind and the rippling, tinkling water. she whispers to remind me of her true voice.

she whispers in the background of the words spoken by another. she whispers to help me see that all is at it should be.

she whispers in the whirring as the pedal is pushed to the floor and the fabric moves with each stitch. she whispers to remind me who i am.

she whispers as i look out at the purple, full, encompassing clouds above the mountains. she whispers to help me see who i want to be.

postcard from colorado (7.3.08)

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"tell your story," i whisper to myself as i take each step forward. then i hear these words:

but, don't get so caught up in telling your story that you don't stop and listen to the whispered stories of all who came before you. the knowledge there is deep and wide and true. even when you don't agree, much can be learned from those whispers of truth. we must listen...

thank you (checking in)

thanks for checking in with me with your comments, emails, and by phone...sorry my posts seemed so cryptic. not really my intention but i just felt a need for connection i guess. to take a break from the fabric and the pink and the pretty and just share bits of what is happening in my life...bits of what is also real and true and me.

my grandfather is in the hospital, across the country, and things were a bit confusing and, well, scary for awhile. things seem better now. it is still a bit confusing but not quite as scary.

it brings up a lot for me. being so far away. missing him. missing my grandmother. missing their home where i always felt safe and really alive. missing those parts of my childhood. and the fear that sits there whenever we know someone might die sooner than we thought. the stuff that makes up parts of what is real and true and life.

deep breath.

i am taking my own advice for a change and trying to just stay in this moment. this moment right now. to be here...

jon and i have had quite the adventure over the last couple of days as we thought we might have to postpone a trip to see his parents and spend time with his gram and instead go to see my grandpa. we made the decision to still head to see his parents, but then we missed our flight...because we were late. our own fault. really my fault.

oh the drums of negativity that can keep tempo in your head when something like that happens.

deep breath.

(thanks to the kindness of a woman at the delta counter) we are here, a day late, safe and sound and surrounded by love.

deep breath.

i hope to share some "postcards from colorado" as i take in the beauty of the scenery and family...

thanks for being out there reading my words and sitting beside me.

many blessings,
liz

backyard moments.

yesterday was another "one of those days." one of those "this is what happens when people get older and you live far away from your family and you don't have control of anything and you just have to wait for information and pray and try not to panic and wait some more and make the best decisions you can" kind of days.

after some phone calls and some tears, jonny and millie got me out of the house.

just out into the backyard to sit in the glider and listen to the birds and breathe.

i captured some of the many faces of our miss millie as we sat together as our little family...

(thank you for your kind comments...they mean so very much to me. as i sit here in the morning quiet punctuated by the insistent but happy chirping bird outside the window, i know that i am so blessed.)

a day.

it has been a day.

a day of phone calls with serious voices.
one of those days.
where you get a bit of news that isn't good and then suddenly some other unrelated news comes in that is really bad while you then wait and hope that the original news doesn't suddenly take a new turn to try to trump the other news.

one of those days.

a day to try to find a minute to just breathe and hope.

a day to turn on this week's weeds and find some laughter.

two words.
albert brooks.

made my whole 29 minutes of tv time.

sometimes escaping is totally okay.
just don't pitch a tent there.

take a breath...find the joy.

pause.
inhale.
notice you.
exhale.
find you.
inhale.
look inside your heart.
exhale.

inhale.
do you see the joy within you?
exhale.

inhale.
do you see the joy that is you?
exhale.

breathe in that joy.
no matter the size...or how far or near the feeling...
just breathe it in.
let yourself live inside that joy...
for this moment.
for this hour.
for this day.

do this one small thing just for you...

meet the library pocket totes (and a question for you)

Summer. Hot sun. Keds. Pulling my little brother behind me in his wagon. A purple bike complete with banana seat and white wicker basket. Walks to the neighborhood library for books. Stopping at the Burger Dairy corner store for popsicles. Walking home and curling up on the orange-flowered cushions on the screened-in porch with a stack of books…The Yearling, Trixie Belden, The Boxcar Children. Adventures await...

This is a peek into the summers of my childhood. I remember carrying a small rectangular tote bag with a rainbow on the front during these walks to and from the library.

With these memories in mind, I designed this tote for the summer reading of my adult life. It will hold adventures where I might:

Have a picnic at Pemberley
Take a walk in the gardens of Green Gables
Have tea in Cranford
Solve mysteries in Sleepyside

I can't wait.

I would love to know some of the places you visited while reading through your summer reading lists of the past...or the present. Where have you had a picnic or solved a mystery or twirled with laughter? I would love to join you there...and a bet a few others would too.

Share your favorite summer reads with us...

(I have added a few of these and some simple selma totes and some aprons to my etsy shop)