Meri's Musings

What a strange thing divorce is. It terminates the legal construct called "marriage,"      but it fails to sever the string of memories you carry around, memories tucked neatly away in some mental suitcase until something unpacks them. Yesterday, I was sitting in Jason's hair studio, sipping tea and watching the "trim" turn into a major shearing, when the oldies station played this piece of Fleetwood Mac history. And the memories of falling in love and its particular soundtrack came flooding back. There was a little bar across the street and down the block from the law school.  It was a bit schizophenic: a lunchtime hangout for law students and professors, an after-shift blue collar bar,  and a post-class study place  for night law students  after the doors were officially locked for the night. There was a jukebox, playing through all the changes in the cast of characters. Some of the songs it played  are forever embedded  in my memo

Silly me. I find joy in the oddest things. . . like taking a perfectly wonderful and delicate photo I've taken and turning it into something else altogether. Something like "Ballerina Tutus from the Black Lagoon." See what I mean? Where do you find JOY? This is the place to show and tell. To play along: 1. do a post that tells and shows us what gives you joy. 2. capture the URL of the specific post  and paste it into the  Mr. Linky box  along with your name. 3. visit other players -- as many as possible --  and let their joy infect you.   Leave them a comment about their post. Let's start an epidemic of joy!

I'm off on a jaunt today to take pictures of beautiful people with skin tones not as white as mine, so the website I work for can show its commitment to diversity. And since I'm putting others on the spot, capturing them in all their glory, (and we all know how much we hate seeing photos of ourselves unless they match our image of ourselves) I figured I should post a self-portrait. Yup. That's me. I'm the one in the coat, not the one looking flirty in a swimsuit. You'd never recover if you viewed a picture of me in a swimsuit.

Haiku My Heart . stones of castle walls whisper stories of boastful knights, fierce battles lost Chateau Chinon .

If you haven't figured it out already, I'm a camera nut. I love taking photos when I'm out and about, playing with software like CameraBag (to make a perfectly wonderful image look totally weird and artificial sometimes) and using image software like Photoshop to make artful images with multiple layers like this one with macro shots of art glass and reflections off water and  perhaps another layer of something or other. . .  Ribbon of Time © 2010 Meri Arnett-Kremian Camera play makes me happy and joyful. So what gives you joy? This is the place to show and tell. To play along: 1. do a post that tells and shows us what gives you joy. 2. capture the URL of the specific post and paste it into the Mr. Linky box along with your name. 3. visit other players -- as many as possible -- and let their joy infect you.  Leave them a comment about their post. Let's start an epidemic of joy!

Had fun this weekend in Judy Wise 's  wonderful studio  playing with wax and color, seeing other women create, sharing food and conversation. All in an atmosphere of what if? I think I'll try this. . . oh my gosh. . . I love what you did!   I'd played with wax before under Judy's tutelage, in an encaustic collage class. This time I learned a few more techniques and got good at transfers. Loved torching amber shellac. Loved digging into the heart of things. Now I'm all abuzz about the possibilities with wax. Who knew?

Haiku My Heart . the sun dips its brush first in the sky, then water and paints love around p.s. Please forgive me, fellow Haiku creators. . . I am off for the weekend and am not taking e-devices. I will soak in your genius when I'm back. In the meantime, the 20 somethings are holding down the fort and (I hope) remembering to feed the felines Deja Mew and Purrsnickety.

Sometimes the weight of sadness in the world makes it a challenge to rise to the lightness of joy. Those times are perhaps the ones that call us most to cultivate gratitude and joy in our lives. Today I choose to find joy in pomegranates. They're associated with abundance, generosity, passion, fertility, lusciousness, womanliness and union.  Strong and deceptively ordinary on the outside, the interior is fertile, juicy and sweet. They're considered symbolic of the divine feminine. Pomegranates inspire us to recognize the richness and wonder that surround us. They urge us to unite with others, to merge with the Divine. To be strong but remain juicy. To be luscious with JOY. Where have you found JOY in your life? This is the place to show and tell. To play along: 1. do a post that tells and shows us what gives you joy. 2. capture the URL of the specific post and paste it into the Mr. Linky box along with your name. 3. visit other players -- as ma

This morning, I loved Noelle's post about the dreamy,  spiritual quality of mist  and her quotes  from Celtic spirituality writer and philosopher  Frank MacEowen.  And that got me thinking  about my trip  not so long ago to Ireland  with a group  put together by my friend Judith to tour megalithic spiritual sites,  learn Irish myths  and the tradition of storytelling,  and tap your heels  to Irish music in pubs. Judith leads Celtic Spirituality tours every year. I put together a video (I'm posting it below ) that she's using on her announcement about this year's trip. Her tours are low key,  with time for meditation and reflection, but fun group activities as well, so if you're called to Ireland, please see what Judith is offering. I can attest that unexpected things can happen -- I saw auras for the first time at Carrowkeel. . .  felt energy so strong at Loughcrew that I nearly  lost consciousness . . . . saw fairy lights outside Sligo  (and knew what to c

It is time. "Clock Window at Musée d'Orsay"© 2003, 2011 Meri Arnett-Kremian Time for thoughtfulness and right action. Time to practice compassion. Time for civility in public and private discourse. Time for loving kindness and connection to prevail, for hatred and violence to find no soil in which to root. It is time for change. It is time for miracles.  Let us begin. 

For more Haiku My Heart, click HERE .  waves curl and tumble lacy foam rushes onshore how quickly it tears 

I wish I could say that today I am taking flight but I feel a little bit plodding and uninspired. This week has been one of more-than-average frustration and miscommunication.  Things seem to be taking longer than I expect. The urge to create is quiescent. A period of germination, I guess. Anyone else in the doldrums?