New Years Eve Storm

Inspiring Words in my Inbox

"Resonance is a truly wonderful feeling, but I think it is helpful to remain mindful that it, too, is fleeting and temporary. A part of the whole. A moment upon the journey.

When we are comfortable with and accept conflict/difference also as natural and healthy, we can drop our Fear of Other and experience/live Love within a relationship. This requires Trust/Caring/Compassion/Commitment from both Others, that the shared Us is worth the effort and pain of leaping from the constructed safety of the Known and Comfortable into the fear worthy Possible. Together.

Freeing our Spirits from attachment to both our Reactionary Selves (our Fortress Selves) and the Disney plot lines we ingest from society, the Universe becomes one with our inner sanctum as even violence, yea true Evil, can not destroy the beauty and wonder of All That Is and impede Spirit's expansion. We can celebrate both resonance and conflict as essential to living, because we are at all times safe and threatened by neither.

Fear and Suffering are dissolved by Love and Awareness, Caring and Compassion, Understanding and Wisdom.

And, of course, Humor is a great Lubricant.

And, Chocolate is the True Reason for Existence." Kevin F.

Dancing on the Edge

These cusp times, those days before the New Whatever, are full of imaginings. I have been thinking about and discussing the Possibilities for the New Year. As most of us do, I take time to reflect upon the passing year, and make some choices about intent for the new one. Like most of us I think about treating my body better, and taking time to nurture myself. This new year I invite more play into my life. More Joy. I have pretty much sequestered myself this past year, feeling less inclined to reach out to others, to seek new friends, to find playgrounds that inspire me.


See, many of my connections with Human Beings have been less than satisfactory. I know that rests on my shoulders, for making those choices, for picking people who are either too self absorbed, or not authentic, incapable of growth or lacking the desire to share deeply. So, this past year I retreated into myself and to the quiet places to find answers, to find my own cadence, to seek my Authentic Self, so that I can better shine that out into the world as a beacon for others to see.


This year I am thankful for the goodness that has come my way with some new friends, and for the arrival of Lux, my best doggie buddy. I am grateful for my continued healing, for my opening heart and for a warm bed and a roof over my head. And, I am thankful for all of you loyal readers, as most days that connection is so very precious to me, because I feel seen and heard. That is a tremendous gift, and I thank you all very much!

A Very Keen Holiday!

Kitty Fweepin'

Tweets!

Cold Walking Gear

Hugging Spoons

Dispatched Citrus

Minty Cookies Baked

Squash Soup in a Mug

Herbaceous Loaves

Exquisite Truffles: Dark on Dark, and Milk with Snowdust

Happy Holidays

From the Keen Home to yours, a Very Merry Holiday to all!

Fenced In

Patiently In Line

Apples, Waiting.

Winter Moment

Shiver Me Timbers!!

Well, much precipitation here in the Boston area this weekend. Hour upon hour of snowfall with temperatures in the teens, ending early this morning. There was much shoveling at the Keen Household! And, Behold! School is open today!!! This gives me a few hours of shopping time to finish off the goodies and stockings for Christmas. Yay! I am ever so glad I got those snow tires on Thursday. Best. Thing. Evar. Rather intrepid am I now. Not intrepid enough to head to CVS in the middle of a snowstorm to get my teen the eyeliner she *absolutely* HAD to have for school. So this morning it was wrestling mania over the one, stumpy, eyeliner left. The girls were frantic for beauty. Eeegads.

Also much cookie baking went on yesterday, the best of which was this recipe for Snickerdoodles: Click Here for the Recipe

I also found some Keen Things on the Intarwebzes this weekend! Oooh! Lookie!

Hand Blown Tap Handles!! Click Here!


And my favorite Christmas Song:



Stay Warm. Drive Safely. Be Kind. Have Hope.

Cool Thing:

Earning It

I am earning my Geek street cred here, back in bed after a frozen, snowy dog walk, with pink cheeks, coffee and my laptop looking at this:

Logo Design Love: Click Here.

and

Groceteria:History of the Supermarket: Click Here.

while listening to this:

WUMB: Click Here for Live 365 streaming radio.

"Hey! Wanna know why else I'm COOL?"

This just tickles me. I love kids with good self esteem. Especially the "weird" ones. The ones who hopefully grow up to be so amazingly different.

Confidence? It RAWKS!

Where IS that dude with the shoes NOW???

Click HERE to learn why we are forking over 17 Billion dollars to 25 Million people. We are paying retired workers pensions and settlements from the "job bank" phenomenon, which pays out over 80% of a worker's salary for YEARS.

It strikes me that there are plenty of cars out there. Too many cars. We could have stopped a while ago. In fact I think that those who can should abandon their vehicles and invest in Zip Cars or the like. Look at the car lots. Full like a fruit bat in mango season. Stuffed.

This whole mess is painful. But really now,somebody needs to kick this guy in the shins and double dog dare him to be honest.

As if.

Public Service Announcement

I had *no* idea snow tires had gotten so expensive!!!


That is all.

Memories

I know...

It is probably totally uncool to say that one's parents are or were HOT, but, damn, look at this:

Now and Then..or Then and Now, or Something Like That...

And Lo!, this is what a Festivus Pole looked like when I was eight. Trees were a huge thing in my family, literally, and figuratively. We always had honking Blue Spruces...giants among plants, the T-Rex of shrubs. And they were royally adorned over the years with many antique ornaments, garlands, toys, birds and baubles. And underneath was the Bounty of all Bounties. It was true magic.

Apparently, THIS is what a Festivus Pole looks like in the mid 80's, after too much eggnog. OOoooh! Pwitty Wights!

This is a family portrait taken when I was 3. From Left to Right: older brother, younger sister, older sister, Me. I still have that gingham dress. I remember that day. I ate strawberries right before the picture was taken.

(Left to Right: Older sister, younger sister, ex, Dad, Mom, Me, older brother)

This is the last time all of us were together, in 1985. Of the 7, 1 is The Wasband, my brother and father have passed away and there is no communication with the two sisters.

Christmas has been a really quiet thing for me the past three years. Usually the girls go to their Dad's around mid-morning, and then it is a calm and quiet, although totally messy, house. This year it will be Lux and Me and some boutique ale, and if the weather permits, a fire in the fire bowl outside. Sometimes I miss the warmth and the hum of being with friends, Beloveds and family in a holiday home, replete with the aromas of all-day cooking, the rattle of backgammon dice, the sound of the creaking stairs as one person after the other goes up for naps after a morning of Pillage and Conquer, boxes strewn, battery packages lazily resting on the carpet under the couch somewhere, recently kicked.

I am sure Lux would appreciate it if I cooked a Turkey just for her. She is like that. I did get her a present already. Ssssh! I'm not telling what it is!

I hope all of you have managed to organize yourselves to the hilt and are not freaking out at the upcoming festivities. If not, you will probably say the same thing to yourself that you said last year: "I really should start this SOONER next year!"

Cause, like, you really should.

All I want for Christmas is The Wonder Boner

Cool Thing:

Click Here for more of Alastair Heseltine's work

If I had a wood stove, and I got a pile of wood, you can bet that, if I had enough coffee in me, I would probably do something akin to this. This totally rocks.

OOOh!

White Balance Lens Cap! Click Here!

"Size ten reminder of his unpopularity"

Now, I had to chuckle at this one. What do you think would happen if everyone in that room took of their shoes and threw them at Bush? Would a big hook come from stage Left and drag him off? I think we should institute a new policy of shoe throwing by the media.

I cannot, as hard as I try, imagine this happening to Obama. Under any circumstances. And if it did, it is likely that Michelle would whoop those shoes right back at them. And I bet she has a mean arm. Like, really. I would NOT want to be on the other end of a shoe she had thrown.

Shutter Mind: Ice Storm

The storm came and went in a matter of a half a day, but the aftermath still rings through my town, evident in the heaps of refuse on the sidewalks, water-laden, frozen hard. The day of the storm I took off with my camera, knowing that with each rising degree the ice was melting from the branches. I wanted to capture the moment forever, so I traipsed to my favorite hiking spot and took the following:

Oh Boy...

This weeks power outage is still going strong in my area. We finally have power, and internet and cable came back as well, but we are among the few streets in our area to be so lucky.

Basement flooded, four inches of water. Lots of Shop Vac going on.

I will be back when the floods recede.

Send me warm, dry vibes.

Thanks.

What I see...

Uninspiring Words:

I know that Starbux sux. But, it is a safe place to meet new friends for coffee if you have never met them in real life before. So, I drove in the rain. And sat behind two, very cute, Orthodox Jews discussing a very interesting class one of them was teaching, and to the left of a table of Czech workers laughing and chatting merrily in their own language.

At one point, I went up to a man and asked:

"Peter?"...
"No, but I must look like one. I am waiting for someone else."

At one point I lifted my eyebrow at one man, who was wearing (ugh) a baseball cap and sweats. Him? Nah, wearing a wedding ring.

Half a latte later, much later, late, in fact. He was, at the very least, 45 minutes late. That is icky. I like my friends to be punctual. I want them to want to spend time with me so much that they make sure they get there in time...

Ok. Let's go.

Home.

Check the email just to see if maybe I had the wrong Starbux.

Nah...

Hey There

I'm sorry for canceling on you at the last minute but you asked me if I was single and no I'm not. I am in a unhappy marriage that is progressively going downhill and was looking for someone to talk with and maybe bring a little sunshine into my life if possible but I really don't want to involve a nice person like yourself in my problems. So once again I'm so sorry for canceling.

P.

I hate Starbux. I did not even get a comfy chair.

Thus, for this and other reasons : The Dickhead song:

Wisdom

Like, Whoa!

Take a Hit-O-Jen Here!

Throw the car into reverse...

This morning, under the covers, Lux nudged her head into my closer, sighed and nuzzled me. We heard the wind blowing hard outside, trash cans careening into things, branches falling. 5:30 AM alarm. Hit snooze. 5 Minute reprieve. Again. Again. Again.

I wake and don my multiple layers of fleece, pull on woolen socks, hiking boots, hat, trundle down to make coffee, wake the girls for school. Just before I leave I look at the porch thermometer.

60 degrees.

Eh? Huh? Wha? Fall, how we missed thee!

I had downloaded Guggenheim Grotto Waltzing Alone album yesterday, and it has been on heavy rotation most of the last 15 hours, save those I was sleeping. Lux and I ran about the neighborhood, she scoring a bagel, I lifting my arms to the wind in flight. I listened to the music, loudly, through my headphones. Hitting the park, we ran in the soggy grass and I sang, belted out, the songs flowing through my ears...so happy.

This makes me happy, too:

Want. This. Rug. Someday. Click here for more.

"Angela Adams is a proud member of RUGMARK, a global nonprofit organization working to end illegal child labor in the carpet industry and offer educational opportunities to children in India, Nepal, and Pakistan. It does this through loom and factory monitoring, consumer labeling, and running schools for former child workers."

Way Keen Bamboo Laptop! Click Here!


Currently listening to "Children of the Night: by Cassandra Wilson on Jango

Click Here

Have a good day, people! I shall go forth and dodge the trash cans which are flying about the neighborhood. Wheee!

Sun Gently Beckons

5:30 AM

Roused from dream, shoes scuffing against ten-below cement, we walked. Unexpected Beauty arises from darkness, internal and otherwise. Sometimes, the cold and dark, the gestating sacrament of waiting, the seemingly endless edge of black breaks, just a tiny bit, revealing the gilt edge of Someday Soon.

Uber Keen

Click Here, be patient, and then, watch yourself smile! I dare you NOT to smile!

Playing for Change: Stand by Me

Playing for Change is a peace movement through song. Go check this out. Seriously KEEN!

http://www.playingforchange.com/

Inspiring Words: Micro Fiction

Her hand dropped to the glass counter, palm down. Tiny pools of moisture formed under her fingertips, it was that hot. If one looked closely enough they could see the tiny specks of red dust, earth, that once clung to her fingers as she walked the dusty road from the bus station, suitcase in hand. Three quarters, slapped onto the surface, cheap price for a bag of Swedish Fish.

Homecoming had an ill wind blowing though it. Even as the steaming pile of metal called a bus, crawled it's way along the highway from the Mason Dixon line heading South, she felt the pressure building. 27 and only a job at the health food store to show for her educational adventures at a private college. Bah! Her brother had already mastered the knack of providing Evidence of Familial Respect. He was a board certified surgeon. She handled Nutritional Yeast.

The chewy candy stuck in her molars, and, wincing, she remembered the small card that notified her of her upcoming dentist appointment, the one where she fully intended to huff that nitrous oxide until her arms felt fuzzy and heavy, and the giggles rose from deep within. "I should floss more", she thought.

Popping another sweet into her mouth, she gathered up her suitcase and headed back to the hot light of day, wondering if she would make it out of this holiday gathering with as much of herself intact as she currently had.

TED Talks: Giant Trees

CLICKY-CLICKY

Chutes and Ladders

Ladder: finding two new trails in new woods this week with Lux
Chute: cancellations of doggie walk clients due to economy
Ladder: really good chocolate
Chute: eating too much really good chocolate
Ladder: watching Arrested Development on Fancast
Chute: really spending TOO much time watching Arrested Development on Fancast
Ladder: a really wonderful conversation with one person
Chute: a really wonderful, but triggery, conversation with another person resulting in owies.
Ladder: another really long hike with Lux this morning.
Chute: two words. Dead Opossom.
Ladder: Leashes are GOOD things!
Chute: Kidney Kid has fever
Ladder: fever is going down now
Chute: I still have not worked on that darned resume for the job I want.
Ladder: there is still more chocolate
Chute: But not MUCH (Ahoy Chicago!)
Ladder: my landlord had a landscaper come rake leaves for me
Chute: He does not rake so much as BLOW. What a bloody racket!
Ladder: 3PM is, indeed, NOT too early for a glass of merlot and an episode of Arrested Development.

Green Trees and Bruce Lee among other Keen Things

You, too, can Deck the Halls in a New and Green Way!

Click Here, you KNOW you wanna!

Get ready to drink a hell of a lot of soda! And precisely WHAT do you do with this thing after Jan 1st? I mean, I cannot fathom someone stuffing that sucker up in the attic, and it would not be cool to recycle with all that wire, etc...still...pretty Keen idea

And now, for your enjoyment,Bruce Lee playing Ping Pong:

I've been on a "mixed tape" craze lately, making mixed CDs for friends. It is great fun to craft moments like that, and it reminds me of college days, making tapes for boys to get them to understand what is going through your mind by luring them into music. Sorta a backwards way of working into the heart, leaving a stamp, making a long-term memory. How many times in your life did you find some dusty tape some old boyfriend made for you, with his scrawling writing on the label, then, putting it into the tape player (and hoping that the crud on the tape would not fuck up your cassette player) feel all those old memories flood back in?

Well, now you can re-live some of that joy by ordering this:

Click Here for Mixed Tape USB stick




Click Here for the wonderful photography of Tom Kaszuba

Okay, folks, I am off to have a Saturday. This includes re-working my resume to apply for a job teaching a class at a local college on wine and varietals used in the industry. Cross your fingers, those monks at that Jesuit college my kid got into, they likes them coins. Lots of them. About 40k dollars worth. A year. To treat myself this afternoon, Jenny and I are heading to the movies to see "Milk". Review upon my return. Have a good one!