ART for the PEOPLE

Check it.

My friend Sandra showed me this today and I dig it the most. Can't wait till I actually have $20!

Lice and a song

Today, before the kids arrived, I discovered that one of the kids in my group, and her brother have lice.

Later, when I went to pick half the kids up at once school, I sang an excited kind of theme song called something like "Check the Big Kids' Heads for Lice Day". It had a verse and brief chorus and it rhymed and musically made sense. It was dumb, and repetitive and I couldn't remember it ten minutes later, to sing a reprise for some kids who were late, but it made kids giggle.

This proves that it isn't just my mother's voice that comes out of me anymore, it's also my dad's.

The Writer's Strike

"He only said it because I wrote it."

Only in Seattle

I was standing in the produce section in the Ballard Market, which is near the front door. This summer I think they hired a new produce display person because the mountains of vegetables and fruits (often paired with wine or cheese or something) have just blown me away. In any case... there's a pair of blonde brothers, struck senseless with desire. Think about how some kids who suddenly have come across an unexpected chocolate mousse cake, covered in whipped cream and carmel. The boys are probably 7 and 9. They stare at a beautiful array in front of the door. Their fathers hands are full of canvas bags about to burst.

Taller Brother: (moans softly)
Shorter Brother and Taller Brother together: Chantrelles!
Shorter Brother: (begging)Dad! Chantrelles!
Taller Brother: (whining) Dad!
Dad: I know. I see them. I'm sure grandma is bringing some chantrelles. C'mon! Let's go!

For the uninitiated. THIS is the chantrelle.

And yet the retreat pictures continue...

Here is the labyrinth I mentioned. It's right next to the river, so the rushing and burbling is all I could hear. The labyrinth itself is obviously very simple which makes the act of walking it the center of attention. At the same time, it obviously took great care and effort to carry all the river rocks to this place and arrange them, so it also feels like a present.

 

There are three different buildings that anyone can use at any time of day for whatever practice you like to do. This one is called the sanctuary and around the edges of the room there are mats, cushions, drums... anything someone might want. At home I try to meditate every day, but it doesn't always work out. Here, I sat every day twice a day. It was very encouraging.

 

Here's the window I stared out of while I sat. I know that little sapling trunk in the middle distance better than any other part of the whole place.

 

The food at Breitenbush is just fantastic and delicious and nourishing. If you want food to take with you on a hike, all you have to do is tell the kitchen staff the night before and you get a brown bag lunch. I was eager to have some good food for the ride home (you can stay and use the facilities and eat the food until 3 the day you check out. I was leaving early, though to make it home at a decent hour.) so the night before I took off I went to the kitchen (through the wrong door) and asked for a lunch. The guy asked my name, and when I told him and spelled it, he smirked and said "We have a Kendra who lives here. I know how to spell it." (There is a community of people who live across the river and staff the resort.) The next morning when I picked up my meal (right door this time) there was a different guy who asked my name. He smiled a funny sneaky smile when he heard it, too, and said almost the same words. (I get the feeling that she must be something, this other Kendra, from their expressions!) Here's a picture of my lunch bag.
Not sure if the cook was being playful, or if that's how they've been taught to spell my name.

 

It was delicious.

Retreat pictures continued...

These are some frozen mushrooms. I got up one morning and walked the stone labrynth after breakfast. As I walked back to the lodge, the sun glinted at me from a mudpile. These skinny little mushrooms had frozen overnight, and were sparkling and melting as I watched. They were lit up and most lovely just as the sun touched them, and thus just before they crunched under the heat of the sun and the weight of the mud they inhabited. It was really beautiful, and sudden and I'm afraid these pictures don't really do it justice. The whole time, there was the sound of them breaking and little pebbles and chunks of mud falling.

My Retreat

Here are some pictures from the retreat I took all by myself in November. It was very peaceful, slow, introspective and lovely.

Here's my cabin. I was supposed to share it with roomates, but none presented themselves. The first morning I was there, I wrote a small note to the roomies who would arrive telling them who I was, and how long I'd be there, and that of course they could take the big bed if they wanted it.

 

Most of the people wandering around Breitenbush have towels around their necks. Between the hottubs and pools and the sauna, noone is ever dry for very long. Here I am heading out for a hike and a soak. The crazy thing is that I walked to the lodge and set down my towel and my water on a picnic table. I knew that noone would touch my things unless they absolutely couldn't avoid it. I went on my little hike up the river and then came back to my belongings just where I needed them. It was very cold already, so I'm wearing my silly hat, too.

 

This is the inside of the cozy warm cabin. It's heated with radiators that are filled with water that was piped down under the earth to the hot spots and then piped back up. Because this uses almost no energy, I had no guilt about turning up the heat in my cozy cabin and taking really hot long showers.

 

This is the lodge I described earlier. It's where all the meals are served. In the afternoon, the sun shone on the porch there and I liked to eat at the picnic tables. Then after, I'd find an Adirondack chair and move it near the woodpile, the LAST place to remain sunny before the sun fell behind the mountains, and knit. (In fact, you can see the chair right where I left it.)