The Bright Side

Alas, a flicker few into the window

The glass reflected the sky and this beautiful creature tried to fly through. Sarah is going to put up a black pattern of a hawk on that window to warn birds.

View from Sarah and Chris's Deck

In Boulder, Colorado the sun is bright this morning.

View from my window

Some lovely flowers

Stephen Colbert for President

Indian Music

Mr. President

from Judelicious

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rl7wSz6M05k

I like this news source

Musical Cat

Poetry and my poem

Celebration of a Life Well Lived

Our mentor, the one who started the Saturday Morning Exercise and Eating Group, passed away last week. He is missed terribly.

Hey,hey!

Hearings

The best Fish Place

Newman's has good take-out fish. Yesterday we had the special, fried oysters with extra fish plus coleslaw and no French fries, all for about $7 which was a delicious dinner for the two of us. The wisteria is awesome now.

Mother Love

I love this picture.

In Front of the New Chinese Restaurant

The place was too crowded, even though we had reservations, and too too noisy.

Here I am on YouTube

For an invitation to read your favorite poem go to: http://www.youtube.com/my_playlists?p=804FF2C19E85AA13

You can respond if you care to.
You can hear me read my poem if you search for idlinfarm in the search space.

Simply amazing! The connections!

Mindfulness

Mindfulness meditation is about coming into a relationship with ourselves and the world as they actually are rather than how we would like them to be. In our meditation practice this is expressed as a willingness to work with whatever is, whatever presents itself. All the experiences of our life are brought into the mediation and there is no attempt to alter or change them in any way. In this type of meditation practice there is no seeking after another state of being, no attempt to superimpose an elevated image or to distract ourself and no running away from or avoiding the incessant ups and downs of life. The mindfulness meditation tradition is the ultimate "no-frills" method.

quote-----from Meditation & Relaxation in Plain English by Bob Sharples

Christmas Cactus blooming

On the third floor in the hall we have this breath-takingly beautiful boom, thanks to the green thumb of a woman here who does wonders with the plants.

Bach is back

Bach, the mascot at the 5th St. Mkt., has returned, this time he is enclosed in a pen.

That's us

I love this sign in the UK. We should have them here.

Libby's awesome camelia bush

I finally was able to see the flowers that Libby wanted me to see last week. It is a lovely bush, some of the flowers fading now, as is the wont of flowers.

Eugene Symphony

Last evening at the Hult Performance Center the orchestra gets ready to play the Shostakovich.

Tulips are out

The flowers are bursting out all over. It is warm today and threatens rain. Good for the gardens.

Eugene Peace Rally

We were glad to be here. It was stirring and well planned. I especially liked hearing Lieutenant Watada speak, the first commissioned officer to refuse to be re-deployed to Iraq and is hence being court marshalled. He was articulate and passionate, a strong man.

Daffodils at the library

Evidence of spring is all over the place here. Pink blossomed trees on Charnelton, primroses in the gardens and pansies in the planters on the mall. There was rain in the morning but warm sun in the afternoon.

The River

"I think the river is a strong brown god------" T.S. Eliot

Old Poster

Stuff in the attic. I wonder what to do with this Rolling Stone poster. Mik Jagger looks young here on the right. A couple of other posters, too. Elton John. The Fillmore. Oh, for the return of the 60's, the era of free everything.

Honey bees are vanishing

This is terrible. It could be genetically modified crops that are toxic to them. It could be pesticides. Whatever it is something should be done. We need them.

Books

I finished 'Conundrum' and was mesmerized by Jan Morris's story. If I find myself is a situation where I feel very odd and different from other people I will remember Jan Morris. She is a fine writer and has something important to say about identity and gender. Andrew Weil is a writer I return to time after time, also his website, but I am reluctant to take all the supplements he recommends. It is just too many pills for my stomach. The de-cluttering book is a bit disappointing.

That's better

There are more drawers to de-clutter and cubboards and closets, plus the attic. I have to urge myself to keep at it-----and maintain order.

Great de-cluttering project

Little by little the de-cluttering begins today.

Walk along the river

Yesterday was cold and rainy. Not many people on the bike path, just some bicyclers, a couple of runners (including Linn) and a walker (me). The Williamette River is fascinating in any weather. The geese were loving it.

Jamalle shoots back

Jane and I stayed at a great hotel in Burbank, the Graciela, which is walking distance to Dan and Jamalle's house. This shot is in the hotel.

Doing the income tax

It's a hurdle to get over and we are almost done.

Beautiful Broccoli

Steamed just right.

Garden at the Park Service Office Joshua Tree

Joshua Tree National Park

From view point the Salton Sea is at the left, Palm Springs about in the middle


Hail

Jane

Hand Massage at Desert Hot Springs

The instruction we got in neck and shoulder and hand and foot massage was helpful. I have been practicing on Linn. He likes it. I intend to get some almond oil today.

Chef Nigel

Here's a recipe for mango, avocado and jicama salsa: Dice these ingredients and add lime juice with some cayenne pepper and that herb I can't think of the name of at the moment but it's the one that is always in salsa. Someone please remind me.

Jane and friend in lobby of the resort

Our hotel room should have been in this resort but we were next door in a not so nice room. We had to walk back and forth across a very big parking lot for our classes and activities. Nobody took responsibility for changing our arrangements and we still want to get to the bottom of that decision. We have evaluation sheets to fill out and Elderhostel will hear about it from a lot of old complainers---not Jane, she is young, the youngest one here---a young protester.

The pool at Miracle Springs Resort

The pool and hot soaking pools are lovely at this resort, however, our Elderhostel group was shunted over to the hotel next door and we were not happy about it. The hotel management and the elderhostel managers here have apoligized to us for the mixup in scheduling. Our rooms seem to have been given to a church group. They want to make it up to us by giving us champagne before dinner every night but we are not appeased and will continue to make complaints. We are enjoying the people in our group, the program in massage and other wellness topics.

Dan and Jamalle in Burbank

It was great to visit with Dan and Jamalle. They met my plane that was a few hours late because of the rain in San Francisco. Jane's plane didn't get into Burbank until about 9:20 pm. She was diverted from Portland to Seattle because her scheduled flight was canceled. She didn't arrive at our hotel in Burbank until around 10 pm, tired from her long day. We stayed at a beautiful hotel, The Graciela, which is walking distance to Dan's house and the next morning we all went to breakfast at the Hugo Restaurant where the food was excellent. Our adventure now continues in Desert Hot Springs.

How to de-clutter your house

Oprah was inspiring yesterday. I want to de-clutter.

Waiting

For what? or whom?

Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald

A good man, my hero. We'll see what happens in the Libby trial next week. Rove, Cheney and even Bush seem to have broken the law. Perhaps they think they are above it.

I found a good sale

I can dress up sometime.

Piano Concert

Linn's notes on the music