five (really) good things

paris ii, natasha apron

the album my brother worked on/recorded with ben lee and jessica chapnik, the soundtrack from the australian film the square, has been nominated for an aria (similar to a U.S. grammy). jessica's voice is beautiful...loving these songs (visit her myspace page to hear some of them).

fall is here, which means it is that time of year when we begin to light our favorite candles at dusk.

finding a rhythm to my days as i try to balance it all and letting go of self-judgement when i don't quite find that balance.

creating. lots and lots of creating happening around here in any free second i have. (i've added natasha aprons to the shop.)

staying connected from this one-person inhabited island i sometimes feel that i live on.

how about you?
what are five really good things in your world?

name them.
i dare you.

hoping. wishing. helping.

A few weeks back, I was reading blogs in bloglines and came across a link in one of the crafty blogs I read that took to me to a post on another blog where I read about how a family was waiting and hoping and praying for the lives of two incredible people...Stephanie and Christian Nielson. This couple, parents of four small children, was in a private plane crash in August; the flight instructor died in the crash and Stephanie and Christian are recovering from extremely severe burns with months of recovery ahead of them. Learn more about this family on Stephanie's blog; read updates on Stephanie's sister Courtney's blog here.

When Morgan put out a call for donations to the NieNie Etsy Benefit Sale, I joined in by sending a Natasha apron...and plan to also join in by shopping...I don't think I will be able to resist all the goodness in one place.

The sale starts tomorrow, Tuesday, at 10 AM PST (more info here).

***update***most of the items sold out in the first hour of the sale. morgan has indicated that she will be adding more items Wednesday morning (seems people are still sending things to her!), again at 10 AM PST.

I hope you will check it out...and think about buying a little something for you or for someone in your life...something infused with the goodness of people coming together to help one another.

Additionally, from now through Sunday, I will donate $3 from each sale of the Soul Mantra pendant "Seek Peace" to the NieNie benefit fund.

rainy. sunny.

1. rainy day bike, 2. september 08 049
(click to see a bigger version of our diptych)

two girls, two clicks.
a flickr group started by andie and kristin.
two girls on two coasts.
one diptych each week.
starting this week, miss geek ink and i are joining in on the fun.

(PS does anyone know how to make the center of my blog wider so that i can use bigger photos or not have the photos crop automatically [like in the previous post]? help oh wise bloggers)

snippets of today.*

*alternatively titled: eat. drink. sew. repeat.

.the soul mantra pendants.

earlier this month, i shared the pendant i created to be a constant reminder of what i am learning while practicing the mirror meditation.

this reminder: i am beauty.
(to be read when looking in the mirror)

at squam, i debuted a new line of pendants inspired by this meditation and others i try to practice as i walk on this journey. they are a way of bringing my yoga world into my creations a bit more.

i have added a few to my little shop this evening.

these pendants are an invitation to pause in your day, take a breath, and sit in the quiet, even if just for a brief moment.

when you wear one of these pendants, i invite you to see it as a reminder. when you feel it against your skin, notice it on your dresser before you put it on, hear it slide across the chain, see it resting against your neck in your reflection, give yourself permission to bring awareness to your breathing. inhale and internally speak your mantra. exhale and let whatever you need from this mantra settle over you.

(a big thanks to jen and nina for their words of encouragement (and advice) for me as i enter into another aspect of my creative world; this one filled with jump rings and wire wrapping and antiquing metal)

*****

if you placed a custom order with me (and gave me a deposit toward it) at squam, you should have received an email today confirming your order. if you talked about placing an order with me, but didn't receive an email, and are still interested in a custom creation, then please contact me (waywardtulip at gmail dot com). thanks!

what i know.

squam cabin reflection, 9.14.08
(more about this photo here)

this is what i know.

the words from the paul simon song "once upon a time there was an ocean" are continuously swirling through my head. this is a song of my heart (i wrote about it over two years ago here).

these words:

i figure that once upon a time i was an ocean
but now i'm a mountain range
something unstoppable set into motion
nothing's different but
everything's changed

yes. those words.

that is what life after squam is all about for me.

this is what i know.

what i wrote in that last post...about standing in the light and rooted in all i know...those words carried me like gentle golden light as i traveled on a plane across the country...as i dropped fears and what has beens and what might have beens and past hurts like feathers across the country...as i stepped outside after pulling into elizabeth's driveway and felt the trees of new hampshire embrace me as she did.

those trees...

those trees whispered to me all week.
you already know, they said.
you already have the answers.
you already know all you need to know to be in this moment, in this place.
let your heart be open.
do not let the fears of the past close you to all that could be.

yes.

those trees whispered to me all week.
they whispered as i helped (the incredible, amazing) elizabeth and her dear husband t before everyone arrived. they whispered as i embraced old friends and met new ones. they whispered as i remembered the past and faced forward toward the now. they whispered as people shared themselves. they whispered as i painted (yes. me. i painted). they whispered as people saw the best of themselves. they whispered as i saw the best of me.

and the light dappled down between those trees and surrounded me with truth and love.

this is what i know.

the beauty and joy and real-ness and love fest and light and song and play and silliness and nights by the fire that was squam art workshops has pushed me to begin to own who i am, what i know, what i want.

and how blessed i am to be feeling this.
to be seeing this.
to be understanding this.

and now i sit in the quiet.
i sit in all this quiet.
and i remember the laughter and the song and the play and the truth and the deep, wide embraces of it all.
i remember and i push myself to acknowledge that it is part of me now.
even though it seems so far away (you are all so far away) and it is so quiet now, i push myself to honor that it is inside me.
and i turn up the music and listen to my cabinmate sing her wise words.
and i twirl inside all that i know...
all that i have always known...
and i live.
i live.
i live.

standing in the light

there is a lightness. a moving forward. a letting go of the need to look behind.

momentum shoves into me. forcing me to step into the light. to step into the light and realize i am standing tall. rooted in all that i know. rooted in my wisdom.

with each breath of awareness of will remember this. i have known it all along of course, but it can be so easy to find myself in the dark for a bit...and how that "for a bit" can become for a long, long night sometimes.

this is how i (we) learn.

but today.
today i stand rooted with my face turned toward the sun.
i let the peace into the space around my heart. and i look forward. and smile.

i am living in my life.

*****

i am off to new hampshire. taking my paints and pencils and paper and new natasha bags and aprons and patchworked scarves and necklaces...
off to gather up dear friends and meet a few dear friends and meet some new folks.

sending you blessings and peace,
liz

for the journey...

seattle sunset, august 08

did you say you were headed out...on your own...on a journey? i think you mentioned that. i think you mentioned you were on your way...headed around a new corner, walking down a different street. i think that is what you are up to. i think you mentioned you were doing something just for you these days...thinking about focusing on yourself for a bit. leaning forward into life and love and hope.

is that what you are up to these days?
yes?

well, i'd like to share some songs i am taking along with me. i thought you might want to listen to a few. maybe even all of them.
in this very order.

i think they might give you exactly what you need. right now. because i think you just might need a dance break, a few songs for singing, a song to sing to one you love, a song to sing to you, a song for twirling, a song or two for remembering, a song to remind you that you are not alone, a song to tuck you in at night, a song to keep you going and to make you laugh and to let the tears gently fall....and...of course...some tina turner.

*****

the old apartment. barenaked ladies
don't ask me why. billy joel
raspberry beret. prince
mother and child reunion. paul simon
stop, stop, stop. the hollies
ob-la-di, ob-la-da. the beatles
galileo. indigo girls
songbird. fleetwood mac
army of one. cass fox
orbiting. the weepies
goodnight elizabeth. counting crows
if these walls could speak. nanci griffith
let me touch you for awhile. alison kraus and union station
sweet baby james. james taylor (one man band)
louisiana woman, mississippi man. conway twitty & loretta lynn
ruby don't take your love to town. kenny rogers
kentucky woman. neil diamond
blackbird. the beatles
three of us in a boat. jackopierce
sometimes a fantasy. billy joel
can't slow down. lionel richie
better be good to me. tina turner
kiss. prince and the revolution
somewhere over the rainbow/what a wonderful world. iz
power of two. indigo girls
a brid flies out. deb talan
joleen. ray lamontagne
i play music. rosie thomas