Meri's Musings

The forecast calls for snowflakes. . . stockings are hung for  Purrsnickety, Deja Mew, and Oreo. So all that's left to do (besides make the fruit salad and desserts for Christmas dinner) is to wish you The Very Merriest of Christmases (and hugs if you're down or missing someone). And if you're someone dear to me whose name is Gail, Happy Birthday!

The winter solstice is almost here. Being at Stonehenge or Newgrange would be exciting, but a trip wasn't in my budget this month. However, you can watch solstice at Newgrange on December 20 and 21 via this link https://www.irelandsancienteast.com/wintersolstice Celebrate the slow but steady return of the light.

I'm a fan of abstract art (and no, I don't feel compelled to try to find animals or other  representational things in the canvas). I like the audacious use of color, a well-thought out composition, the use of a palette knife to build texture, the emotional energy a piece inspires. Here's a bit of detail from a painting by a Pacific Northwest artist, William Ivey (1919 - 1992). It's just a tiny glimpse of a larger painting currently on exhibit at Tacoma Art Museum. For more of Ivey's works, click HERE . If you want to learn about his life and career, try this website: Museum of Northwest Art

Blogging regularly has fallen off my radar for the most part. It used to be a fun pastime,  with lots of comments from readers and lots of blog hopping to see what others were doing. It felt like we were weaving a blanket of peace and connection around the world. That feeling, born of interaction, seems to have died down these days. Someone I know is offering a self-study blogging course and I found myself tempted but then demurred knowing my pattern of paying for online courses and never working the curriculum. I've come up with 12 months of themes  to inspire blog posts for 2018 but I'm wondering if posting is now akin to spitting in the wind. What do you think?

My life has seemed a little constricted the past few days, so I decided it was time for an outing. The Grand Cinema has a film series every Tuesday, featuring films that probably wouldn't draw  a large enough audience for a week-long run, but that have artistic merit. This week's offering was The King's Choice. Norway's King Haakon VII was faced with a choice when the Germans invaded Norway in 1940 -- he could make a unilateral decision to accede to Germany's demands that the Norwegians not resist their occupation (likely saving thousands of lives) and accept a puppet government that had ousted  the duly elected one or he could honor the country's constitution by refusing to negotiate, saying only the Norwegian people  could make such an important decision. An interesting film covering historical events about which I knew little. After that viewing, I took a little detour before going home (and picki...

Twelve Days of Mary Love I'm closing out my Twelve Days of Mary Love with another tribute to Fran Pullara. This is her collage called "Our Lady of Christmas." Fran was a deeply spiritual person. While I never met her in person, others who knew her have commented on her spirituality  and her kindness. She had an affinity for images and metaphor and the power of language, making her a perfect SoulCollage ® facilitator. She loved making collages on Polyvore.com -- her screen name was Redondowriter, if you're curious -- and images of the Divine Feminine regularly anchored her work. She loved Twelve Days of Mary Love and her absence is felt  here in this online community. Thank you, Fran for being you.

Twelve Days of Mary Another tribute to Fran Pullara. I know she would have been here had she not been called away. "Our Lady of November Sorrows" - Fran Pullara creation (Redondowriter) on Polyvore.com sadness emanates her tears wash the universe yet her love sparkles

Twelve Days of Mary Our Lady of the Shopping Trip

Twelve Days of Mary always reverent heart spilling love to everyone saint of Mexico

Twelve Days of Mary Close Up of Tapestry in Vatican Museum Her baby's soft hands reach out in supplication Mary full of grace.

Twelve Days of Mary   Our Lady of the Canyons ©2017 Meri Arnett-Kremian eyes toward the sky she sends a silent prayer to the creator

Twelve Days of Mary Sometimes I think that Mary, a symbol of all-encompassing love and compassion, must look around and wonder why there's so much hatred and mistrust afoot in the world right now.

Twelve Days of Mary Another creation by Fran Pullara. She called it "Our Lady of the Southwest." Like Mary, Fran left her imprint on the fabric of the Universe through her loving, giving spirit.

Twelve Days of Mary Mother Mary Come to Me ©2017 Fran Pullara When I think of Fran, I think of kindness. She was a sweet soul (with a side of sass) who loved being present for others. She was also a creative being and encouraged others to express that longing in their heart. Gone, but not forgotten.

Twelve Days of Mary I've been thinking a lot about the imbalance of power between men and women. It's hard not to when  every day we learn of men who used their power to oppress to assault to humiliate women in their workplace. Many historians think that ancient cultures who worshipped a goddess rather than a god were more egalitarian, disinclined to assign men the power to rule over and dominate women. Makes sense to me intuitively. . .  why get Mother God angry by implying that incarnate beings that hold the female energy are less than? In our own times, many religions/sects still pay homage to one God the Father and tell us we're created in His image. Well, what about those of us who are female? So I wonder. . . . what if the Second Coming of Christ talked about in scriptures featured a female divine child? A little girl destined to be the Savior of the world? Would that help resto...

Somehow time has stretched and bent and I'm two days behind. I intended to join the celebration of Mary and honoring of my friend Fran Pullara on December 1,  but let's just say  I'm happy to be here now and I'll correct my error by sharing three images today. Fran loved Mary and the Divine Feminine she represents. So in honor of Fran, I have gone through Fran's Polyvore catalog to harvest images of virgins to share with you here.  PV is something Fran and I shared. She loved my layered images  and asked how I'd done them, so I created a written tutorial for her and she took off from there. Fran can't be with us in body, but her images live on. Mary, Our Lady of Blue ©Fran Pullara 2017 Borrowing Botticelli's Mary ©Fran Pullara 2017 Our Lady of the Cosmos ©Fran Pullara 2017     12 Days of Mary