Vacation is a wonderful thing

Long trip. Already worth it. I'm getting filled up (more than physically).
What I ate for dinner


A view from my window



At the end of the day . . .



Out the window tonight (will I ever go to sleep? . . .)

I'll also be posting at Paris Deconstructed all week.

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Rambling Ruth

Some last minute thoughts before my week's vacation starting tomorrow.

• I am SO ready. Too, too many student emails.
• Lesley graduates today -- hurrah! SO much hard work for so long, and now it continues to pay off: internship at Pink Inc in NYC! Congratulations, my beautiful daughter! Now, for a place for her to live . . .
• Don found 20 more morels this morning (after abundant rain): one fantastic breakfast.
• My son Peter's new CD will be completed soon . . . I HOPE!
• There is a potential client from S.U.N.Y. (without marketing!) for my new travel coaching business: synchronicity abounds (that's NOT the name of my company . . . but it's not bad).
• The forecast is nothing but rain for the whole week. But it's ok: I love rain. (Sun would be nice too, for pictures. Maybe I'll learn to take rain photos . . .)
• I'll check in with you while I'm away (yay, Wi-Fi).

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Revisiting the amaryllis

White amaryllis in February

Back on February 12 I posted about a white amaryllis. I said I wanted to propagate it, but it is a long process. Some weeks later (what a terrible scientist I am; I didn’t document the date) I took a Q-tip and spread the pollen on the pistil.

Gradually the petals faded and fell. Here we are, almost three months later, and the seeds are ready for the reveal. They were nothing like what I expected. I thought they’d be bigger, heavier. I thought these flakes resembling raisins were just bloom residue, and that my experiment had failed.

The amaryllis yesterday before breaking off the seeds

As they were blowing away on the porch, my science-teacher husband picked one up, crumbled the brittle flake, and showed me the inner seed. Duh. If I were stranded alone on a dessert island I think I’d be crab food in two weeks flat.

The seeds, which were blowing in the wind

Only two of the bloom centers “took” the fertilization; they’re the bigger black ones in the photo above the one of Don's hand.

When I plant the seeds, the books tell me it will take 2-3 years to grow bulbs.

You can see the tan seed among the black detritus

Want to read about a different Mary Magdalene adventure in Paris? Go here.

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The pain - pleasure continuum

I was struck yesterday by the juxtaposition (synchrony) of two blog posts: mine about pink flowers, and my blog friend Rauf’s about eugenics (in his country, India, outcasts are STILL sterilized for population control).

Two things hit me. 1) Proliferation of life vs. death. 2) How to understand pain and pleasure in our world.

I am way too comfortable and can go DAYS without giving a thought to those who suffer. Because I have incredible happiness and ease of lifestyle, I have greater responsibility to do what I can to improve the lives of others.

I grew up with guilt, and this is not where I want this to go.

But I have to figure out a way to remember this daily and do something about it. Some of my blogging friends are very good at raising awareness and keeping this on the front burner: Ginnie, Nathan and Paul (and, as I mentioned, Rauf). My thanks to them.

Here’s to greater awareness, which leads to more light, which leads to greater truth, which leads to CHANGE! Where would we be without the civil rights activists: Ghandi, King, etc.? It doesn’t just HAPPEN.

These thoughts, and comments on my post yesterday have got me thinking more about “beauty therapy.” How does beauty ease suffering? My sister Susan commented yesterday about the study done in prison when psychological conditions improved when walls were painted pink. I do know a bit about color therapy. I want to research the idea of beauty as therapy. I’ve heard about art therapy and music therapy. I know nothing about them.

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Don't overpink it

Too late.

These photos are from the farm. They're all my fault, except the apple and crabapple trees, which were already there before we arrived.



Apparently I like pink (I'm sorry I ever teased you, Susan, over your love of pink). I didn't realize until I took these pics how girlie I am!

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Don't overthink it

Find out why the sculptor of The Thinker, arguably one of the most famous statues in the world, was never accepted as a student at the best art academy in Paris. Visit my latest post at Paris Deconstructed.

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Jasmine tea

Click on image for larger view where you can see the bubbles in the flowers

My friend Diane served this jasmine tea the other night. It was one of those moments when the vision, the scent and the feel were equally enrapturing in a sudden, extemporaneous way. Those who live in more exotic places have no doubt seen a jasmine tea flower open like this in hot water. I had not.

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