India Rubber Soles/Souls

Our family, like every family, has had its share of difficulty. The kids and I are very resilient as a result. So much so that I suspect we have india rubber soles, (souls?), so well do we bounce back. We've had lots of practice, on this old trampoline called life.

So Steph has accepted that little Bella is no longer suffering, and has shifted her attention to Bella's sister, little Chloe.

Chloe is a sturdy little girl.

She appears to be a hoot, as well, so she'll fit in well with our family, which is all about loud peals of laughter, at all times, especially when things get tough in the trenches.

Gord, surveying his new fur baby.

Got Milk?

Steph says she is in love again. And who could resist this little face?

Three survivors of the litter of five.

So adorable, both of them :)

Water From the Well

Kids, this has been the most amazing journey. I hopped on board Elizabeth Crawford"s Soul Card journey this month without thinking much about it. Little did I know, it was right on time. Each morning, I have awakened excited to see what card was posted for that day. Each morning, I took one look, began typing and the words came like I was taking dictation - they came from Somewhere Else. Also from deep within, where they have been lurking for a long, lonely time. Today has been a remarkable day, of signs and affirmations, and the importance of seemingly chance connections that are not chance at all, but meant. I am in awe, here, folks. And still traveling.


Not sure what mischief I'll get into in May. But April has been all about the magic!

Day 30 of the Soul Card journey
with Elizabeth Crawford of Soul's Music
Soul Cards by Deborah Koff-Chapin
of http://www.touchdrawing.com/

Traveler

walks through the woods

carrying water

from the well,

with which to

give drink and sustenance

to other wayfarers.

She has a kind smile.

She gathers everyone in.

She loves people.

Then she retreats
to her cave
for replenishment,

where solitude
and silence

are her best friends.

Traveler

needs trees and water,

in whatever

configurations,

in order to live.

She can crowd herself into

the tiniest treehouse,

the better to savor

the singing etudes

of the forest

and the larking, joyous

pernambulations

of the river's song.

Traveler

is now coming

to the end of

this journey.

Another pathway

beckons

as the morrow dawns.

She is

all filled with

wonder

at the passage

she has made.

She knows now

that she is not alone,

that Beings

are guiding

her every step

from the Great Beyond.

This image really speaks to me, kids. I have always been a Blue Sky Woman, and the white dove of peace has flown alongside me for many decades. I hope this comes through in my words, to add something positive to this old world that needs hope and peace so badly.

Back in the early seventies, I discovered I am an ocean person. I saw Jonathan Livingston Seagull and that started me on my journey of discovery, to personal freedom, and to striving towards a higher level of awareness. This image is perfect for the last one of the series, for it encompasses everything that identifies my personal journey.

Thank you to all of you who have accompanied me on this amazing Soul Card journey. I will have to think fast. May begins on Sunday!!!! 

Bella and Chloe

Well, kids, I have some sad news and some good news. Here is Steph with Baby Bella, who was the runt of the litter, and who was battling pneumonia the last week and a half. Steph had her back and forth to the vet's, and was hoping she would fight it off, but the other day, she was suffering so much, the vet said she wasn't strong enough to fight it, and they euthanized this poor little mite, to stop her suffering. She had stopped eating and was struggling for every breath. Just too little.

Already saying goodbye. Dear little face.

Wee Bella

Steph was devastated, of course and is still very sad as she loved the little pup so much.

But she also says Bella isnt suffering now, and she has accepted it.

Bella and Chloe, two sisters

Chloe and Bella

You can see the difference in size and strength.

Chloe and Bella

Chloe
So this is Bella's sister who fortunately had not yet been claimed.

Steph decided there was no way, after loving and losing her puppy so fast,

that she could go home with no puppy. And she said Chloe is the closest thing to Bella, and a part of her.

So in a couple of weeks, Chloe will go home with her to meet her big brothers, Chase and Sanchez.

I already loved little Bella, and am saddened by her loss. But we will love Chloe too,

and she is strong and full of beans. Puppies bring nothing but joy.

It's ALL Magic!!!!

[image from google: magicbob2000.com]

Well kids, I was smiling when I wrote the waiting for the magic to happen poem this morning. Because, as you know by now, I believe we are living in a miracle, and magic is everywhere, all around us, if we open our eyes to it.

But some days are more magical than others and this was one of them.

I went into town to do some errands, and picked up something for someone that is going to make him very very happy, a surprise. I so love giving gifts, it is just one of the very best feelings. On to the CPP office to determine that the move I am trying to make happen, into  more affordable accommodation,  is absolutely a necessity as of July when my income goes down.

Over to the video store to rent a couple of FANTASTIC looking movies. The proprietor there is a fellow humanitarian. Over the years we have come to recognize we share the same kind of hearts and worldviews, and we have the best, most meaningful conversations. We are totally on the same page when it comes to the world, peoples' hearts, helping kids, and so on.

This time, our conversation is going to change a child's life somewhere on the other side of the world. As I say, he is amazing. He so wants to help kids. I cant say more right now. Suffice it to say, there are no accidents, and the most random conversation can have ripple effects that are huge. Life-affirming and life-changing.

THEN I came home - in SUNSHINE!!!!!! - to a message on my machine from someone who is more extended family than anything, who wants to buy my trailer. I am happy. Everything dovetailing perfectly, and right on time, he wants to move in just when my income goes down and I need to be out of here. It will hurt a lot less to give it to him than some total stranger, and I can still come sit on the porch sometimes, so it wont be totally gone.

When I make a decision that is what I am meant to do, I can always tell it is the right one by how swiftly the universe rushes in to support it. Once again, I know I am doing the right thing, though there will be huge adjustments, of course. But life will ease, and that is what needs to happen.

Tonight there is live music and my sister and I are going..............a day cant get much more magical than this one did!

Waiting for the Magic

[image from google]

for the Real Toads prompt: All the World's a Stage

All the World's a Stage,

with me bumbling
about on it,

like Ms. Magoo,

tripping over my feet,

slapping myself

upside the head,

muttering to myself.

Curtains get stuck

on the draw-ropes,

opening and closing

at random moments,

dust thick

in the old theatre.

The audience

grows restless,

coughing,

shuffling their feet,

and rattling

their programs.

They are

waiting for

the magic

to begin.

Me, too!

Young Woodpecker Update

[image from google]

Young woodpecker,

you're still

bending your beak

against that

hard metal roof.

Are you going to

take as long as

I did

to stop

choosing struggle,

and find

an easier way?

You have wings.

Lift off.

Zoom over

five more feet

to that loose-barked

old cedar,

full of rich,

juicy,

succulent bugs.

Give your beak

a break.

Traveler Holds the Moon

Day 29 of the Soul Card Journey
with Elizabeth Crawford of Soul's Music
Soul Cards by Deborah Koff-Chapin
at http://www.touchdrawing.com/

 Traveler

wants to

hold life to her

like a huge

buttery yellow

moon.

She wants to

sip summer

out of a periwinkle blue cup

and listen to frogs

serenade

every evening

beside the pond

in a place

where winter

never comes.

Traveler wants

to roll downhill

with six tumbling

golden puppies,

to watch babies smile,

and old couples

hold hands.

She wants

to watch

the sun go down

beside the sea

for six thousand more

spectacular sunsets,

and wake to watch

the  sun peep

up over the hill

six thousand and one more

 hopeful mornings.

The older

she gets,

the farther she walks,

the more she wants

to hold close

all that is

swiftly

and silently
slipping and sliding

away.

The haunting voices

of the Old Ones

sometimes

call to her

from strange and
owl-filled

forests,

dripping branches

playing timpani

on the canopy,

the ancient trees

singing

to her

like a

last weary sigh.

Wild Woman Looks in the Mirror

[Maxine's creator is John Wagner

copyright Hallwark Licensing Corp.]

Wild Woman

seeks an image

to accompany

her Wild Woman

poems.

Needs something

frizzy-haired

and cartoonish,

sorta like

a dumpling

with matted yarn

for hair.

  Hmmmm........

she decides

all she really

needs to do

is point

the camera

in the mirror.

But last time

she did that

she scared herself

so badly,

she vowed

she'd never

do it

again.

Wild Woman
is so
freaking
vain.

Wild Woman Considers the Alternative

[Hallmark's Maxine creator is John Wagner.
Copyright Hallmark Licensing Corp.]

Wild Woman

wonders why

life doesn't get

easier

when one is

old and tired.

But she says,

"You gotta love it

anyway.

It sure beats

the alternative."

A Flowering of Hearts

[image from google]

Kids, between the devastating disaster in Japan, flooding through the prairies in Canada, and now the tornadoes in the southern States,  it seems like every week we are hearing about new natural disasters. Earth is trying to tell us something about global warming, while the Fat Cats try to deny it is even happening, in order to go on stuffing their pockets with the profits from our global devastation. It occurred to me to post this poem from the past, written in the time of El Nino. Same message, different day.

From El Nino to La Nina,

with floods, tornadoes,

wind and weirder weather,

Mother Earth has been

indicating to us

her grave displeasure.

Our hearts beat

in sympathy

with her,

share her dis-ease.

We seem to know that

we have lost our way,

but how do we

find the words to say,

the prayers to pray,

that will

unseat a dynasty

of such greed

and hungry power?

Shift

shift

the collective consciousness

to a more peaceful paradigm:

there is still time

to join together

all our human hearts

- the only place where

peace can truly flower.

Monsters

[image from google]

for Poets United's Thursday Think Tank prompt: Monsters

As a child,

my son dreamed

often

of monsters.

I'd hear him

calling out,

thrashing

in his bed,

terrified

of the ogres

that peopled

his dreams.

What I didn't know

was a

real, live

monster

visited

my daughter,

when she

was small.

It took

forty-one years

to learn

the true source

of her pain.

Earth Mother

Day 28 of the Soul Card Journey

with Elizabeth Crawford of Soul's Music

Soul Cards by Deborah Koff-Chapin

at http://www.touchdrawing.com/

In her day,

Traveler was

as fertile

as Mother Earth,

giving life to

four small voyagers,

who grew like

saplings

off her

sturdy trunk.

She fed them

with laughter

and snippets of moon,

(for wonder),

and soon

they grew

beyond her,

reaching for

an infinity

of sky.

Now, Traveler

reflects and

remembers,

basking

in the glory

of their

exuberant

flowering.

Move Over, Ms. Osprey!

Well, kids, I have felt myself perched precariously many times in this old life, but I don't think it has ever been quite this precarious!!!!!! This is an osprey nest, with Ms. Osprey IN it. My son Jon took the photo and said they saw many nests perched atop telephone poles like this, as they camped their way around the Okanagan this past weekend.

I am sure this says something about loss of habitat. Speaking of which, I have two parties interested in my sweet little home, and am rather feeling around with my feet, myself, right now, wondering where firm ground is going to be.

May have to ask Ms. Osprey to move over, hee hee!

(I certainly hope her babies dont try sitting on the live wires when they're learning to fly :(
Instant toast!)

Blue Sky Woman

Day 27 of the Soul Card Journey
with Elizabeth Crawford of Soul's Music
Soul Cards by Deborah Koff-Chapin
at http://www.touchdrawing.com/

She is

Blue Sky Woman,

who has walked around

her whole life,

head back,

gazing at the sky.

Sky Traveler,

so many miles

she has wandered

under the beauty

of this

celestial blanket.

Star Dreamer,

she asks

her questions

of the stars,

and, when they're

silent,

she directs her

attention

to the moon.

A white dove of Peace

flies alongside

as she journeys,

for she wants

no disharmony

anywhere

near her person.

Her step lilts,

and she sings

as she travels,

for a hopeful heart

rides along

in her breast pocket.

That blue sky

has carried her

a long ways,

first thing she sees

in the morning,

last thing she sees

at night:
so much

beauty, mystery,

and wonder
to be found

in  decoding
the transubstantiation

of the clouds.

Song of the Eagle

Day 26 of the Soul Card Journey
with Elizabeth Crawford of Soul's Music
Soul Cards by Deborah Koff-Chapin
at http://www.touchdrawing.com/

Song of the western sea,

sursurration of the waves

breaking, breaking,

smell of salt,

seaspray in her face,

Traveler

follows

the pierced cry

of the eagle,

its shadow

falling across

the long empty

beach

which stretches

before her

to Forever.

He rides

the air currents,

wind-surfing the skies,

eyes alert

and penetrating,

seeing vastness

as wide

as the ocean,

and minutiae

small as

the smallest mouse,

skittering

across the sand

and under a log.

Betimes,

he swoops down

to the water,

rising

with a salmon

in his talons.

He is a symbol

of freedom,

of flight,

of Rising Above,

transcending,

reaching for

heights.

He is lord

of all he

surveys,

intimidated

by nothing.

Where he lands,

broad-chested

and fierce of eye,

smaller birds

and creatures

back away.

He appears

where  there

is pain,

to remind

us that

suffering

is finite.

He appears

where there

is Death,

to remind us

the soul

travels on,

when it slips free

of its body.

He appears

to give the

Traveler

hope,

and inspiration

for the journey.

To rest,

he alights

on a scrag's

topmost branch,

and surveys

the morning.

His eyes meet

Traveler's,

below.

Slowly,

he raises

a wing,

and drops

one lone

feather

down

to her,

a gift

to let her know

that she is

worthy.

Song of the Sea

Day 25 of the Soul Card Journey
with Elizabeth Crawford of Soul's Music
Soul Cards by Deborah Koff-Chapin
at http://www.touchdrawing.com/

Perched on a cliff

above the sea,

Traveler communes

with the

midnight moon.

Bioluminescence

outlines

both sea

and shore

with a magical

radiance

she has never seen

before.

Traveler basks there

for a time,

feeling an

inner glow,

sea spray

welcome

on her face

as breakers

crash and churn

against the

blackened

rocks below.

Though she

must turn away

and leave

the sea she loves

behind,

 she carries

its song

within,

its waves

advancing

and retreating

forever

in her mind.

A Gift From the Sun

[Day 24 of the Soul Card Journey
with Elizabeth Crawford of Soul's Music
Soul Cards by Deborah Koff-Chapin
at http://www.touchdrawing.com/]
for Jeff

He came to

Traveler,

like a gift

from the sun,

sunny laughing baby

with gentle heart

and innocent eyes.

Schizophrenia

struck him down

at seventeen,

and for two decades

his soul struggled to

survive, to adapt to

his altered and fractured 

reality.

Traveler

walked beside him

down

many midnight streets

streaked with raindrop tears,

the endless darkness ahead

unknowable and,

thankfully,

unseen.

She hung onto

the other end of the phone

during hundreds,

no thousands,

of conversations,

as he struggled

to decide

whether

he could make it

through one more

stormy, lonely,
desperate 

night.

She became

still and strong,

like an oak tree,
to give him
shelter,

like an anchor,

to tether him

to the earth

when he would

blow away

like a scudding cloud

across the

tortured universe

of his mind.

On the other side

of this battle,

he emerged,

deciding to stay,

and thanked her

for always

holding on

to that sunny child,

that gentle heart,

inside him,
for never
letting go,
for never
turning away,

for seeing him, still,

the boy that he was,

inside the large suffering body

of the man.

In the end,

they decided

the illness,

the suffering,

had brought

them gifts:

it taught them

unconditional love,

acceptance,

Being There,

speaking from

the heart,

Being Real.

It taught them

that What Is

is What Is,

and is okay.

It was their

souls' path,
his and hers,

their journey
to make,

to walk

this portion

of the highway

together.