corner view ~ out & about

Today my friend Kapua and I took Shawn with some boys to a native forest preserve that few have entered.  We drove way up into the clouds where everything was cold and crisp and wet.  Kapua and our guide did a native chant before we entered the preserve.  We hiked for three miles, breaking for a picnic in the misty rain.  We saw trees that were 700 years old, and learned all about plants and birds that only exist in this forest, in all of the world.  We saw a flowering plant that is close to extinction, and I was happy to see that people have planted more of it, to try to keep it on the planet.  We looked for birds with binoculars, the boys all took photos with disposable cameras, and we sampled wild berries and tender fern shoots.

We had a great time.

shawn's birthday bash

So much fun.  So many kids.  Over twenty!  Swimming, trampoline, swingball, dinner, and dirt cake.  A million gifts to open.  A happy day, all around.

circling the world/giveaway

back cover of "No Turning Back" designed by Gary and Sky

Here is the final song to share with you from Gary's new album.  This song, "Circling the World" is described by Gary as "about our inner search to find faith in love."

My interpretation -- This could be romantic love, or Divine love.  I like to think of it as both.

The first line is, "Every mind, circles a world, tries to find the sun it left behind."

That has been my task in the last year since I began my daily meditation.  A beautiful challenge, one that I have to recommit to daily.  It's easy to leave the sun behind.  But it's always there.  We just sometimes forget.

A giveaway of the CD "No Turning Back" is happening this week on Facebook. Click here and like Gary's page to play along!

corner view~flowers

I walked around our property today and snapped this shot of red ginger, a flower I am going to plant more of very soon.  I think it is smiling and happy to be living here with us.

This variety of ginger is a magestic plant that thrives in our conditions.  We are working to get our irrigation system providing ample water for our plants, so when we leave town they will be happy.  It seems we are succeeding.

right reasons

About Gary's song "Right Reasons at the Time," he said, "I got back into Bob Marley for a while and re-listened to 'Three Little Birds.'  He sings 'Don't you worry 'bout a thing.  'Cause everything little thing gonna be all right.'  But we can't always be on the same emotional level as the high priests in this world. This song is about what happens when we ignore the message of the three birds at our door step."

what's up over here

It's Saturday and baseball season is over.  Shawn's team came in second place with seven wins and five losses.  They lost last night, but they weren't playing full guns...because they had secured second place no matter who won, the coaches from both sides decided to not play their strong pitchers and not steal home ever.  This allowed all of the players on both teams to play positions they wanted to, but weren't great at.  They had so much fun, even though it wasn't as exciting as the games that were more competitive and close.  Shawn played catcher for the first time ever.  Despite the loss, our competitive boy was all smiles.  The coaches gave him the game ball.

During this season I was so impressed with these coaches.  They had so much heart and good sense.

After the game we had a potluck dinner with the other team.  All of the kids got small trophies and the coaches said something about each kid which was very positive, and so good for these boys to hear about themselves, publicly. 

We leave in a little over three weeks for our annual summer trip.  We are starting to remodel a small bathroom today.  I have a new guy helping me with our garden, repairing the irrigation system.  This coming week I am going to plant some native plants, Sky's new album is coming out, and Gary is doing a radio interview that will air in New York.  This coming week, Shawn's last week of school, we have something extra every day -- a school conference, an exhibition night, a theater performance, a volunteer obligation, and a trip to the homeless shelter to prepare dinner.  Sky has prom tonight.  Busy, busy.  Fun, fun.

I am really grateful that today I feel healthy, and intend to stay this way.  Last week I took a class in "Aromatouch" with these essential oils called doTerra that I have been using for the family.  Incredible smells.  They are such pure oils I can't get enough of them.

Have a great weekend my friends!        

corner view~one day in my life

This year Mother's Day was a day I felt very loved by my family.  Shawn made banana bread in school that we had for breakfast.  It was really good.  He was really proud of it, which was so cute.  Gary took us all to see "42," a great film about the life of Jackie Robinson.  Then we all went out to dinner.  

I have been very busy lately.  The only thing I wish for is an extra day to get things done.  There is a lot to do and we leave town in less than a month!    

time for a new song over here...

Somehow many of the songs Gary wrote for his new album remind me of our time in Italy, the Cinque Terre region.

This is a song that is close to Gary's heart.

In Papa Maestro's words, "The song 'Bells from Town' is an autobiography that never happened. I imagined one night what might have been if I'd have made other decisions in my life -- basically choosing touring my songs over starting a family. And I saw in a dream an aging washed-up ex-rock 'n roll star living in a big house by himself on a hill overlooking his home town. No one wants him to tour on the big stage anymore. He gave up the girl he loved to chase after that dream, chasing after an image of himself -- a modern Narcissus. And he is left standing at his gate, looking a little thin, hearing the bells from town, and wondering. . . . .

When it was time for the great lead guitarist, Tom Finch, to record his solo I told him the story about this guy and said, 'Tom, be him. He was a great player in his day, but he's done. It's over. And he's angry. He's not ready to stop. He's screaming through this one final great solo of his, that no one's ever going to hear. He's screaming about the loneliness, and the entire waste of a life! Play that!'

Fortunately, Tom Finch is not one to be intimidated. He's the real deal. And this solo proves it. I can listen to it over and over, and I feel this guy standing by his gate, screaming into the wind."

nature in the home

Yesterday we were able to trim trees on our property and a neighbors' trees and viola!  We have our beautiful ocean view.  And with it, this sparkling awesome body of water is brought all the way into our living room.

I am grateful for understanding and generous neighbors and Derrek the tree guy.

Today,  joining Lou's nature in the home series.

corner view~birds

You don't think they are going to grow up.  You think they will always be little, even though logically you know all people grow up.  But not yours.  It seems they will always be as they are, etched in time.

And then you look back one day, at photos of them feeding the birds, in St. Mark's Square, and you realize this is now just a memory.  And they are growing up.

sky has finished her album

It is called "Searchlight."  She worked really hard on it.  I am really proud of her.  It is a beautiful collection, seven songs total.  She is getting school credit for an attempt at world distribution and marketing.  I will be helping with the social media part.  Today I took her for a haircut and frozen yogurt to celebrate.

Overall, a very good day in Marksland.  

nature in the home

Hello everyone,
I was intrigued to find this new series via Andrea's blog.  I grabbed my camera and went outside and immediately saw a tiny bird nest on the ground, perfectly round, laying there as if it were waiting for me.  Since it was empty I picked it up and placed it in our guava tree for the above photo.

I guess it was meant to be.

Joining Lou's "nature in the home" series...