QUOTE: “In the autumn I gathered all my sorrows and buried them in my garden. And when April returned and spring came to wed the earth, there grew in my garden beautiful flowers unlike all other flowers. And my neighbors came to behold them, and they all said to me, ‘When autumn comes again, at seeding time, will you not give us of the seeds of these flowers that we may have them in our gardens?’ ” ~ Khalil Gibran
Tuesday, May 14, 2024
Yesterday (Ant, Atmosphere, and Slug)
QUOTE: “In the autumn I gathered all my sorrows and buried them in my garden. And when April returned and spring came to wed the earth, there grew in my garden beautiful flowers unlike all other flowers. And my neighbors came to behold them, and they all said to me, ‘When autumn comes again, at seeding time, will you not give us of the seeds of these flowers that we may have them in our gardens?’ ” ~ Khalil Gibran
Posted by Susan at 1:37 PM 4 comments
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
Edge of the Ocean (Stick Figure)
Besides the trip to see Dar Williams in Key West (early-February), I took another road trip with Nancy last week (this time to Brooksville) to visit our long-time friend Peggy-now-Maggie, who moved to Sweden many years ago and now resides in Finland. We took her out to dinner, convinced her to spend the night with us at our hotel, and stayed up quite late talking. Much hilarity as well as sadness ensued (her son William overdosed in 2020, so she "gets it"). I also gave her a pouch of E's ashes, as he has never been to Scandinavia... π€£
Returned from there Wednesday night, went to Gary's Celebration of Life (he was a church friend, ran sound for the Labyrinth Cafe the last two years (2018-19), and coordinated the A/V at Eric's service. An unexpected and altogether-too-sudden infection and death... π
And now for Unpacking and Recovery!
BOOK: Walking Each Other Home: Conversations on Loving and Dying by Ram Dass, Mirabai Bush
POEM: Somehow by Dorothy Chan
Posted by Susan at 10:55 PM 0 comments
Labels: Aldous Huxley, death, Dorothy Chan, Eric, Gregory Orr, grief, Mirabai Bush, Ram Dass, Sharon Olds, Steven Charleston, Stick Figure
Tuesday, February 27, 2024
Meet on the Ledge (Richard Thompson)
P.S. credit to Dar for my song title... π€
QUOTE(S): “What is the meaning of life? That was all — a simple question; one that tended to close in on one with years. The great revelation had never come. The great revelation perhaps never did come. Instead there were little daily miracles, illuminations, matches struck unexpectedly in the dark; here was one." ~ Virginia Woolf
Posted by Susan at 10:25 PM 2 comments
Labels: Alan Watts, Dar Williams, death, Eric, grief, Jan Richardson, Mary Oliver, Richard Thompson, South Florida Folk Festival, Tennessee Williams, Virginia Woolf
Friday, February 16, 2024
February (Dar Williams)
I have been verbalizing the following, and I am now officially putting it in writing: For the months of October/November/December, I was in self-imposed hibernation, cocooning, roly-poly mode... which I very much needed as well as appreciated. Then... BAM... January and February. Yikes! Not to plead The Busy?Larabar (not Twinkie!) Defense, but... here was my overwhelming/non-stop schedule:
P.S. I grew up in the Southeast, so I never understood the crocus as metaphor until someone explained this song to me. Big fat f*cking epiphany. Dar is brilliant (but we already knew that!)
P.P.S. More detailed posts about the festival as well as the Dar Key West road trip coming soon... π
POEM: In February by Alice Meynell
QUOTE: “While it is February, one can taste the full joys of anticipation. Spring stands at the gate, with her finger on the latch.” ~ Patience Strong
Posted by Susan at 2:16 PM 0 comments
Labels: Alice Meynell, Dar Williams, death, Dr. Joanne Cacciatore, Eric, February, grief, Jeffrey Rubin, Patience Strong
Tuesday, January 30, 2024
January Knows (Open Book)
I've been meaning to share that I've fallen down the Northern Exposure rabbithole, now streaming on Amazon Prime. I was obsessed on its first run, six seasons from 1990-1995 and, although it sometimes feels a bit dated, it's still clever, quirky, soul-filling: whining Fleischman... Maggie and her opposite-of-Midas-Touch when it comes to boyfriends... Chris in the Morning with his raging pheromones (John Corbett in what I think was his first major role)... Shelley's earrings du jour, etc. etc. etc. I realized tonight that my new mantra is WWMD (What Would Marilyn Do?). If you know, you know, right?
Posted by Susan at 11:07 PM 2 comments
Labels: Brian Bilston, death, Eric, Geraldine Brooks, grief, Mirabai Starr, Ondrea Levine, Open Book, Stephen Levine, W. S. Merwin
Thursday, January 25, 2024
What Do You Hear in These Sounds (Dar Williams)
POEM(S): Let Yourself Rest by Jeff Foster
QUOTE(S): “Time does not heal all wounds; it just gives them space to sink into the subconscious, where they will continue to impact your emotions and behavior. What heals is going inward, loving yourself, accepting yourself, listening to your needs, addressing your attachments and emotional history, learning how to let go, and following your intuition.” ~ Yung Pueblo
Posted by Susan at 10:26 PM 2 comments
Labels: Beth Weaver-Kreider, Christine Hopfgarten, death, Eric, grief, Jeff Foster, Pema Chodron, Rainer Maria Rilke, tattoo, therapy, Valzhyna Mort, Yung Pueblo
Saturday, January 20, 2024
I Heard an Owl (Carrie Newcomer)
I am also more seriously contemplating something I spoke of in my part of the eulogy:
This morning, when I was transferring last year's calendar dates over to the new year's clean slate of schedules/agendas/commitments... July 2023 jumped out at me (see images above and below). We all know that July 28 is Eric's birthday, right? Freaked me the f*ck out (and of course I had to share with M and R immediately!).
"When you see owls everywhere or they recur in your dreams repeatedly, pay attention," says Harmon-Luber. Mello agrees that if you continually see owls, they want to get your attention. "Our spirit guides are sending messages, and they'll keep sending you signs," she says.
POEM: Owls by Liza Katz Duncan
Posted by Susan at 2:35 PM 2 comments
Labels: Beth Weaver-Kreider, Carrie Newcomer, death, E. I. Jane, Eric, grief, Henry David Thoreau, Jane Yolen, Jean E. Sidinger, Kim Bateman, Liza Katz Duncan, owl, William Stafford
Tuesday, January 16, 2024
My Silver Lining (First Aid Kit)
POEM(S):
QUOTE(S): “There is only one day left, always starting over: it is given to us at dawn and taken away from us at dusk.” ~ Jean-Paul Sartre
Posted by Susan at 10:11 PM 3 comments
Labels: Arlene Bailey, Be Present, death, Eric, First Aid Kit, grief, Jean-Paul Sartre, John Muir, Louise Erdrich, now, Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, Scott O'Neil, Word of the Year
Friday, January 12, 2024
Closer to Fine (Indigo Girls)
POEM(S): The Edge by Donna Ashworth
Standing at the edge of a new chapter can be scary.
QUOTE(S): "Without suffering, there's no happiness. So we shouldn't discriminate against the mud. We have to learn how to embrace and cradle our own suffering and the suffering of the world, with a lot of tenderness." ~ Thich Nhat Hanh
Posted by Susan at 11:23 PM 0 comments
Labels: Anne Lamott, Betsy B. Murphy, death, Donna Ashworth, Eric, glimmers, grace, grief, Indigo Girls, Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, Rumi, Thich Nhat Hanh
Wednesday, January 3, 2024
Father and Son (Cat Stevens)
When I was a child
Posted by Susan at 11:33 PM 6 comments
Labels: Amber Ren, Bertolt Brecht, Bob Marley, Cat Stevens, death, Eric, grief, Mo Willems, Raymond Antrobus, Starhawk, Terry Pratchett