Meri's Musings

Find beauty not only in the thing itself but in the pattern of the shadows, the light and dark which that thing provides. Junichiro Tanizaki   (Japanese author, 1886 - 1965) I love the interplay of light and shadows, how shadows bring a depth and richness that delight the eye, while pure bright light sometimes overwhelms the details,  making them seem insignificant. Shadows too deep can, of course, swallow the light for a time, just like in life. It's the interplay, the sharing of the stage, that brings a wholeness of vision. For other Favorite Friday participants, click on the FAVORITE FRIDAY icon.

Do you know about Bone Sigh Arts ? Are you on the mailing list for the daily quote? A woman named Terri St. Cloud creates little meditations and shares them with the folks on her mailing list. Today's quote resonated with me  so I thought I'd share. "I went back and got her today, the little girl that is me. I coaxed her to stand, to drop the blanket, and to pick up her beauty. She's walking with me now, and leading me to wholeness." - Terri St. Cloud We can all stand to give ourselves --  our past, present, and future selves -- some loving encouragement. p.s. I wasn't talented enough to set up a tripod and use a timer for the first three pics.  I have to credit either my Mom or my Dad for those.  Only the bottom photo is mine.

If you're the parent of a gamer or two like I am or even a gamer yourself, I've got good news: Gamers might be perfectly positioned to change the world. Here's how.  The video's a little long (20 minutes) but fascinating. Makes me have hope.  And that's a good thing.

Waterlilies floating lazily, willow branches dancing in the breeze along the path that skirts the pond. A pink house with green shutters keeping watch over climbing roses. Roses growing beside a picket fence. Astilbes leaning, like Narcissus trying to glimpse himself in still water. An old hotel in the village where artists came to pay homage to Monet. p.s. These "artful images" are based on photographs that I took at Giverny and later digitally manipulated. For more Mosaic Monday participants, visit Mary's Dear Little Red House . 

In the days of yore, back when the wheat was harvested manually by dozens of men all working a field until it was nothing but stubble before they moved on to the next farm, the workers would get powerfully hungry. They were, after all, expending a lot of energy  harvesting grain and possibly fruit, as well. Back in the 1890s and probably for a couple of decades after that, the Walla Walla Valley harvest crews were fed meals from cook wagons like this one. These wagons were mobile kitchens -- kind of like the taco wagons you see in some parking lots at lunch time. I suspect the one in the picture was a later model, because it's a "horseless" wagon. But it was staffed by women, sometimes farmer's wives and sometimes widows or single women needing some income. They spent their days cooking hearty fare to feed the hungry men bringing in the crops. My great-grandmother Wilhelmina "Minnie" Blomgren Nelson was one of those widows. Her first husband Joh...

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.  I love you straightforwardly,  without complexities or pride;  so I love you because I know no other way.  – Pablo Neruda There are so many beautiful photographs I could post showing the bride and groom from last weekend's wedding.  But the scene that eradicated my mascara, sending it streaming down my cheeks, was this one. When she finally reached the end of the long center aisle and he took her hand, they both broke down. There wasn't a dry eye in the room. Blessings! To the bride and groom, their family and friends. And blessings to all of you who remember the overwhelming emotion of joining your life together with someone you love without knowing how it happened, without knowing why you should love this particular person beyond reason. You just do.

Seeing the adorable Anna Banana in her role as "best supporting actress" as a flower girl in Jessica's wedding I am transported back in time to the night that my aunt married and my cousin and I were flower girls in taffeta gowns. I felt so grown-up. My cousin felt miserable and feverish. She was about to bloom with a bad case of chicken pox. I'm happy to report that Anna Banana was just fine. As you can plainly see. 

The list of things I adore is long but it includes: taking pictures spirals of light and color folk art & crosses statues with serene faces art and artifacts with an Asian flair feathery things tea-stained fabrics & frilly pillows -- though I don't buy frilly pillows -- shades of blue with a hint of green carved doors and Cupid (please send an arrow my way!) Tell me some of your favorite things and then go visit other Mosaic Monday players at Mary's Dear Little Red House . 

. . . and see a sweet young thing marry her handsome prince. I'm going to play tourist in my adolescent and young adult hometown, scenic Seattle. And no, the bride in the mosaic isn't Miss Jessica. It's still a little cool for an outdoor wedding. p.s. And happy anniversary tomorrow to Brendan (my oldest son) and Katie (my adorable daughter-in-law).

Tomorrow's the big day. The official opening of the shrine auction to benefit Oaxacan Streetchildren Grassroots. April 17 - 24, 2010. This creative endeavor is the brainchild of Rebecca Brooks, whose soul is so luminous  that the world is a brighter place simply because she's in it. Her post today -- beautiful and lyrical as usual -- will give you the introduction you deserve. And then make sure you go to THE AUCTION SITE and start poring through the entries to decide which shrine(s) you just can't live without.  I've got my eye on a few. My blog buddies  Allegra Smith Deb Taylor   and   Lisa JonesMoore all have wonderful entries. There are many more pieces, all in need of a loving home. Just think, you can buy original art and touch the life of a child with just a few clicks of a mouse.

Sometimes the waves slam into shore. Sometimes the winds blow us sideways. But even in the most ferocious storms, or their blustery aftermath,  there's always beauty around us. A soothing salve for the soul.

Need I say more?

I love browsing antique stores simply because I never know what I'll find. When you were little, did your parents tell you to eat what was on your plate because there were  starving kids in China/India/Africa? Well, here's a weird twist on that.  Finish your beer? Really! Oh, did I mention that I didn't buy it? For more Mosaic Monday fun, click HERE . -Meri

Ellis Ebenezer Ellis was born June 13, 1836 in Old Town in Hampshire County, Virginia.  Hampshire County was in the part of Virginia that was later carved off to create West Virginia. Ellis was the son of David Ellis (1782 - 1852), a man of Welsh Quaker descent, and his second wife Sarah Jane Farmer (1805 - 1873) Ellis. When Ellis was quite young, perhaps two or three,  the family moved across the river to Allegany County, Maryland and David farmed there for several years. Shortly after the 1850 Census, the family gathered belongings  and moved to Mahaska County, Iowa. Ellis would have been perhaps 15 or 16 when the family moved. The distance from western Maryland to Mahaska County, Iowa doesn't seem daunting now in the era of interstates. But it was a major undertaking then and likely took weeks and weeks of travel. David died soon after arriving in Mahaska County and Sarah Jane was awarded guardianship of the minor children. While living in Iowa, Ellis met and...

Only with the heart " Half-Buried Heart" copyright 2010 Meri Arnett-Kremian. All rights reserved.  can you touch the sky. - Jamal al-Din Rumi Reach. From your center. From your half-buried heart. Listen to the voice you so often ignore, the one that bids you stretch and grow. The whisper that commands you to let your soul  shine more brightly than the brightest star. Take a chance. A gainst all odds, without regard to the wounds of the past, laughing in the face of fear, reach out with trembling hands to  touch the face of love. "Encircled Heart" copyright 2010 Meri Arnett-Kremian. All rights reserved.

Sometimes there just isn't any way  to avoid ruffled feathers. We can't control the wind when it blows, we can only choose behaviors designed to keep us from getting knocked off balance. But then things calm down and things go back to normal. We're on top of things, full of confidence and good cheer.   And if we're really lucky, we'll have an abundance of moments when we'll feel like jumping for joy. Whooppeeeeeee!

I wanted to do something different today. I hope you don't mind. But this subject just seems to lend itself to mosaic format. Enjoy! And be sure to visit Mary's Little Red House to find the list of other Monday Mosaic players. 

There was a lot of activity on the beach on Easter Sunday. Waves crashing. Dogs fetching. Families leaping. Kite fliers. Guitars strumming. Vows exchanged. HAPPY EASTER, a day of hope redeemed.

I'm techno-challenged. Putting web-sized photos into this post from Picasa seems to be beyond my capability. There's no way that I've figured out to downsize the files from mega-size to net size. "A View of Haystack Rock" (c) 2010 Meri Arnett-Kremian. That amounts to a big problem, since I was going to take you along on my beach walk. I was going to show you the silly seagulls putting on a show "Seagull Parade" (c) 2010 Meri Arnett-Kremian and lots of other wonders in a nice, tidy little size that would load efficiently. Now why didn't I load Photoshop Elements on my laptop? Oh, and while I'm thinking of it, just a reminder that Sepia Saturday is taking an Easter break and will return next Saturday.