4:10::10

today i decided to join in the fun of photojournaling my day! my photos are nothing fancy, and i certainly had to remind myself to take pictures. i was moderately successful and today was a very good day so i'm glad i have some reminders as evidence.

a house in bloom

here is an collage of some of the many flowers i've received during my hospital stay and recovery time at home. aren't they beautiful? i'm one lucky girl!

recovery

hello world. i know it's been a long time since i've attempted to write anything in this forum. so it's with a lot of time on my hands and my friend tiffany's words swirling in my head ("i look at your blog every day checking for something new and all i see is 'south africa photos'!"), here's an attempt at reentering this world.

it's funny that this should be the time that i attempt to find something to say, as my life is not very full or busy at the moment. in fact, my days are rather simple, and primarily consist of sleeping in, making myself a cup of coffee when i finally do get up, and sitting around my apartment reading a lot and watching the occasional movie or season 1 of "friends" that was lent to me on dvd. i am home for an extended period of time recovering from an invasive surgery. yes, i am mostly housebound. and when you live in a basement apartment and it's brilliantly spring outside, cabin fever can run rampant. i know how quickly spring can make her appearance known and i get anxious with feeling like i am missing all of the cherry and plum blossoms and bright yellow daffodils, and my favorite, the magnolia trees.

but right now my job is healing. how strange is that? i've never been the best at "taking care of myself". i'd much rather tend to someone else's needs than my own, and i'm terrible at asking for help. and now here i find myself in a position where i've had to rely on other people to help care for me.

the response has actually been almost overwhelming...in a good way, of course. one of my dear friends organized for people to make and deliver dinners to me for two whole weeks! i've been so grateful to receive these meals and humbled by the generosity of the folks who have participated by giving their time and resources to furnish me with a tasty dinner and some very welcome company.

to be honest, it's taken some getting used to for this would-be hermit, having so many people step up and offer their services to me. it's been a good lesson for this girl, who has talked pretty openly on this blog about my struggles with loneliness and lack of connection in recent years. through this experience, i've had to allow my friends to be just that, my friends--i've had to open myself up to receive the gifts of their presence and their aforementioned generosity.

i know some of you who read this (if there's anyone left reading besides tiffany) are part of that number, and i just want to say a very sincere thank you. i have been blessed beyond measure to see how many people are available to me and willing to share their lives with me.

south africa photos

if any of you are interested in viewing more photos from my trip, you can look at them here: http://picasaweb.google.com/happyfoolnotions. i hope to tell more tales in the future, but for now, the photos will have to suffice.

the writing life

yesterday i was invited to attend a writer's workshop in la conner as part of their art's alive festival weekend. having just returned from my month-long excursion to south africa, and having my journal remain mostly painfully bare with very little documentaion of that month, i decided to accept the invitation.

i'm so grateful i did. luci shaw, a poet, essayist, and all around lover of words was the guest writer and she was a delight. beautiful, distinguished, and so spry you're fooled into thinking she's at least twenty years younger than her almost 80 years, the afternoon spent listening to her stories, her poetry, her encouragement, was a gift.

she reminded me what it means to attend--to be attentive to the ordinary occurences in day to day life, to mine out the beauty and explore the connections and the meanings and the mysteries waiting to be discovered. taking the time to sit with pen to paper, and open yourself up to your thoughts is a way to engage with your own story, your own place in this world. and reflecting on that story is an exercise that is well worth the time and effort that is required of you.

one story that she offered about being encouraged in her own life, really resonated inside me and i feel compelled to share it here, too. she told of her old college professor, her mentor in her writing, who became a life-long friend. long after he retired, she spoke to him on the phone one evening and this is what he said to her: "luci, you are the real deal. you are a poet, and i love you." he passed away the next morning, but he left her with a precious gift. he named her. and in calling her to embody what she was, he challenged her to continue to be just that, to go on living out her identity.

i think that when you have someone in your life who believes in you, you don't want to disappoint them. it makes who you can become so much more possible. i think we all need such voices in our life.

i left that afternoon spent in the sun-sprinkled loft above the next chapter bookstore inspired to not only be more intentional about spending more time writing and reflecting about my life and this world around me, but to look for ways to intentionally see into people and encourage them to be more fully who they already are.

here's to living more deeply...

glimpses of south africa

i haven't been posting like i hoped i would, but i decided i should at least post a handful of pictures to give you all a glimpse of what i've been experiencing for the past few weeks. i'm having an amazing time, meeting great people and have had the great fortune to cast my eyes on so many beautiful things. i'll let the pictures speak for themselves. enjoy!

Paarl and the Drakenstein Valley

Paarl Rock

kids in Mbekweni township

me and my buddy Thabo

outside Drakenstein Prison, the last place Mandela stayed before he was released after 27 years as a political prisoner

beautiful farm country along the N2, one of the most stunning roadways i've ever had the pleasure to cast eyes upon

Botlierskop Game Reserve

a white rhino


a hungry lion

giraffes gracefully running away from the sound of the helicopter hovering overhead

the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront and clouds obscuring Table Mountain in the top right

a different view and Table Mountain on a clearer day

Wine Country and Wine Tasting

tokara vineyards, stellenbosch



hazendal winery, est. 1699

tasting at boschendal winery

jackass penguins at simon's town, named for the donkey sound they make

Tidepool Exploring and Whale Watching, Hermanus

exploring with water


the star shell was crawling...


a southern right whale breaching...amazing!

time flies

it's amazing how quickly the time seems to disappear. i know i'm not a faithful blogger, but it's crazy for me to look at my last post (from june!!) and see that i was announcing my trip to south africa. now, in two days from now, i will board a plane at sea-tac airport and make my way to cape town, south africa, via london, england. it is really hard to believe it's so near. in so many ways it seems so far off...so abstract. yet my reality will change in 48 short hours from now, in a land some 10,000 miles and a whole hemisphere away.

like i've said, i've needed a break, and to know that i will have the chance to get my hands dirty and serve, makes me light with anticipation. it will be a long journey, but i know it will be worth the distance.

thanks to all of you who are excited with me for this adventure. i hope that through this experience, i will be a person who is faithful to learn about what this coming month has to teach me, that i will be softened and molded into something that is reflective of who i long to become, and that i will grow in courage and boldness as i encounter and dive into things i've never done before.

i will try to update this lonely little blog while i'm away, but i am making no promises as i do not as yet know what my access to the internet will be.

as they say in south africa, stay well, my friends.