Meri's Musings

Bathed in light sweetened with shadow, she watches, steadfast, hands tented in prayer. Send us blessings. A Virgin a Day .

I've stopped waiting for a man to bring me flowers. I buy blooms for myself. Unlike a man, it's easy to throw them out once they've passed their prime.

Sometimes the best and bravest choice  is to let go.                                   

I hate it when that happens.

Seems so simple in principle. Maintaining it can be challenging.

Happy Birthday, America. With all your flaws, you're still a shining star.

I was up early, sipping my cup of chai, when an NBC Breaking News graphic spread across the screen of the Today show. There was a cutaway to their legal analyst in front of the Supreme Court. The Supremes had announced their decision in Obergafell v. Hodges ,  holding that marriage is a fundamental right extending to same-sex couples. Photo from Yahoo.com  article  Liz Goodwin and Meredith Shiner via Yahoo Politics There will be those among you (including some I count as friends) who are shocked and dismayed by this decision, based on their religious convictions, the "marriage is between one man and one woman" school of thought that relies on status quo extant at the time the Old and New Testaments were written and included in what we now consider the Bible, except (oh my) some of the guys  in those books didn't limit themselves to one wife. It likely won't change your mind for me to point out that the Bible condoned slav...

I was looking through my Pinterest boards in the past few days, curating if you will and I noticed that my favorite color is over-represented there. And guess what? When I looked at my photo archives, I found a lot of blue and aqua, the colors of water at the edge of land. I was curious if my favorite color (which I'd say might be designated as aqua or turquoise) gave hints as to my personality. Google to the rescue! Here's what I found. If turquoise is your favorite color, you are friendly and approachable, easy to communicate with. You are compassionate, empathetic and caring. You have a heightened sense of creativity and sensitivity. You speak from the heart and love sharing your inner most thoughts. As a personality color turquoise you usually have highly developed intuitive abilities. You seek spiritual fulfillment, and you are often an evolved or 'old' soul. You are trying to create balance i...

Some things you might not have known about me. I'm more comfortable behind a lens than in front of it. I'm not a big fan of yellow. Give me a nice dose of Tiffany blue anytime. Pastries and donuts aren't my thing, and I'm not crazy about cakes or pies, either. A good slice of cheesecake is a different thing. I love peonies and sweet peas. I'm a reading nut  (and wondering where these books are.  Probably still in a box.) I love soft, gooey caramels. Despite everything, I still believe in love.

When I was captive to Beatle mania, I was a Paul girl. He had those hound-dog eyes and such a cute grin. After Linda died and he married Heather, I was a little put off. Some of John's songs really spoke to my heart Imagine Woman and he really did look kind cute in those granny glasses. But lately, George Harrison (God rest his soul) has intrigued me. Thanks to Netflix and the two-part documentary about him, I've become reaqainted with "the quiet Beatle," or perhaps I should say "the spiritual Beatle." There was a lot more to him that I knew.

I can always tell when I'm avoiding doing real work (like, perhaps, drafting another chapter for the memoir) because I start finding stupid stuff to do. Case in point: And I've been giving my Pinterest boards WAY too much attention. Oh well. What good is time if you don't spend it?

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Miss Puppy is continuing to heal. After she got her soft casts off, the vet checked her little legs out. Then she got a laser treatment to help her heal faster. She's still wondering what happened and why she isn't allowed to play. Be patient, Oreo. You'll be doing tricks again in about 6 weeks.

Little pup is more than a little miserable. She had surgery on both her hind knees on Tuesday and is just three days in to an eight week recovery period. Her stylish leg wraps will be removed late this morning and she'll have her first puppy physical therapy at that point with instructions on how to rehab her at home on a daily basis. Once the wraps come off (they're more like soft casts) she'll be able to stand a bit which should make relieving herself easier. I've been hoisting her hindquarters in a sling and bending over while she decides whether it's the real thing or a test run. She's a pokey puppy, for sure.

Stop waiting around for someone to love you back. If he won't commit, if you can't count on him, if he betrays you, if he doesn't keep his promises, cut him loose. No matter how hard it seems at the time, you'll be better off. The YOU who is you at the core, your soul you, will applaud you for taking a stand, for asserting your right to be loved  by someone worthy of your love and attention. She's waiting. . . . for you to discover what you've been missing.

This time last year, I took a road trip to Pullman, to the Washington State University campus. I wanted to view some documents and photographs  in the manuscript collection. In some ways, it was a walk down memory lane, not just because the documents related to my family's history as pioneers in the Washington Territory, but because the library is just a stone's throw from where I lived in my freshman year, my "wheat country" experience, before I came to my senses and back to civilization & Seattle to graduate from the University of Washington. After seeing what I'd come to see, I jogged off the highway and took some backroads to see what I could see. The answer was traces of the past. ©2014 Meri Arnett-Kremian Things abandoned. ©2014 Meri Arnett-Kremian Things collapsed. ©2014 Meri Arnett-Kremian It made me remember that permanence is an illusion, that everything changes, that certain...

I've been hibernating here, enjoying nesting and making this house  my own. I've started  playing  at digital collage again. I've even started writing again, in fits and starts, but that's better than the output of the last year. Maybe I'll even start coming here a little more often.

The frenzy of organization has abated. It's time for some art making. "Elements" by MeriMagic on Polyvore.com

Writing the title for this post "My Word!" made me smile. That was one of the phrases my Grandmother used to exclaim when she was flabbergasted. Another phrase was "Land's sake." Not sure what it meant, but she said it  every once in a while. It's taken some time, but I've chosen my word for 2015. I definitely can use a boatload of inspiration. What's your word for 2015?

I have, as you might have noticed, been lying low. Everything in my life has revolved around getting settled in, arranging furniture. Putting things away. Getting used to and creating "home" in a new place. It just feels like some doors have closed and others are waiting to be opened. I have felt a longing to reconnect with my art-making, with my writing, because those things bring me a deep and abiding joy. Right now, however, blogging (which sometimes takes me away from "real writing") isn't high on my list of priorities. So though I think it's imperative to cultivate and notice joy (because where we put our focus is critical to what comes into our lives), I have decided to take a break from hosting Share the Joy. I may come back to it when I feel like it's time for company. But right now, it's time to nest and create the space I want to inhabit. . . . beautiful, serene, uncluttered, and cozy...