Okay. I am back now. Nearly done with jet lag, but don’t talk to me after 6 p.m. Almost done with the physical impact of travel, but obsessed with the images of our vacation.

Since I promised you a peek at some of what I did while on the road, the dirt roads of Tuscany and the cobbled streets of Munich, here is your delivery of the day.

Normally, when I put a postcard to Karen in the mail here in Great Barrington, MA I budget up to 10 days for it to travel from GB to Springfield, then up and over to Canaan, NY. Fair enough for a hundred mile journey, all told. I am always surprised at how long that trip takes.

Until I got to Monte San Savino.

I put a one EU stamp on that over sized card and slipped it in to the slot near the end of business on Friday, August 27. When I heard from Karen on Facebook that she’d already received it mid-week of the very next week- I was shocked! That Fe-Mail art postcard traveled a distance which includes the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean!

Hmmfffff.
But, look on and see who carries the mail in Monte. That woman weaved through market traffic with “Ciao” ringing all along the street.

Fe-Mail: She Delivers!

xoxoxo Ciao Bellas, S

Earliest photo of moi

My favorite art spot

There you have it. From September 8, 1958 at St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, Illinois, where my Mom sent me back to the nursery because she expected a blonde baby and that is just what I was not. She was eventually persuaded that I was her child. Thankfully so. I dearly love my Mom and am grateful to be on this ride with her blue eyes as love lighthouses for me.

Then, just 2 weeks ago in Tuscany, taking in the view and putting it on paper. I had such an art fest. I will share with you my collage-a-days, but until then, there I am.

What a beautiful, auspicious birthday…Rosh Hasanah and something groovy going on with the Moon.

I stand for all that is good in you and all that is as yet unloved. I stand for all that is good in me and all that is as yet unloved. Even those people in Gainesville…I send love their way and pray they will open their hearts.

Rain gave way to sun, then a blustery afternoon kept me in the kitchen with tea and comfort. Basil scents the house along with chicken roasting. Apples and honey on the table for a sweet New Year.

I am one blessed woman. So glad my Mom claimed me. So glad I have claimed myself. And so glad you, in reading me here, take something of what I have to offer.

Love, S

Thank you for your blessings on our journey.
We arrived home safe, sound and sated with beauty.
We left Ben in Munchen with our dear family Kern.
He is thrilled.
We are a teensy bit sad and mostly thrilled too.

Where is my hat? It is sunny and gorgeous here.
Maybe I can find me a Gunnera Insignus for shade?

How are you?
Love, S

The Orleans County Fair is full of wonders

We are very comfortable with our German family here in Munchen.
I have wandered far and wide since I last posted…from Harvard Yard to Monte San Savino in Tuscany, through the Alps to Munich. I am on quite an adventure.

I am struck by this kindness of this soft planet upon which I walk.

Today we are off to the center of this city to see what we shall see.
Those piggies are from Vermont and who can blame them for the comfort they offer one another?
As I woke in the windy morning after a rain filled night here in Munich, the warm quiet solace of this home struck me with awe. This is where Ben shall spend a few months of his life, here with this open hearted family.
If I trace the chain of gratitude for all that conspired to bring me, bring us all, to this moment, I find myself grateful for things that once broke my heart.

But the breaking was a breaking open to deeper love.
The fear was of the unknown, of being out of control. Not ever fear for my animal life. Fear for my percieved life, but what emerged is a new life, a wider view and a bigger presence by virtue of being loved and loving many.

How can I thank you for being here with me?
How can I thank the Infinite for gifting me with this and every breath to follow?
How can I offer my gratitude for the challenges and vistas I have lived through to be here now?

I will spend my life living these questions.
In utter and complete thanks, I inhale in to the day.

The Mystery of the Moment

To the mind there is such a thing as news
whereas to the inner knowing, it is all in the middle of it’s happening.

To doubters, this is a pain.
To believers, it’s gospel.
To the lover and the visionary,
it is life as it’s being lived.

Rumi

All my love to you each.
I will post more photos and art once I figure out the mechanics.
The paper trail of this journey is luscious.

Love, S

My family and I have been in the Northeast Kingdom for this past week visiting friends at the Wildflower Inn in Lyndonville, Vermont. We got to see and delight in Cheri and Doug Safford’s treats at Red Sky Trading in Glover. I will dedicate a whole post about Cheri and her sunbeam smile when I have complete confidence in my wififififitness. Until then, let me tell you that JNB dreams of her chocolate covered doughnuts. Cheri and Doug are harvesters of local glories and if you ever drive north on Route 116, look for this sign:

Ben says the Cheri’s food is her art. I agree. So would you if you tasted her Bread and Butter pickles or Doug’s Blackberry Jam. We always stop in there for refreshments and inspiration on our way to Bread and Puppet Circus.

Bread and Puppet creates magic in the fields

So now, maybe it is the sun in my eyes, or Ben sitting here with his new Converse on, or the strains of guitar coming over on the fuming breezes of this sidewalk…I am eternally nostalgic for this kid. He is about to embark on a 3 month stay in Munich. He just said, “Momma, did I tell you I am more excited than you can even believe? I don’t know if I have completely expressed that.”

Last night I sat with his big bony body on my lap. It was cold on the porch of the Wildflower and we were singing Beatles songs with a bunch of hootenannying pals. This big kid still fits under my chin. “I once had a boy…or should I say, he once had me?” Now he just strode off in search of pizza for his quarter hourly feeding. Thank Goddess he knows how to forage for himself.

So, yes, teary and excited for this Grand Adventure, as my friend Robert says. This Grand Adventure. I am so glad you are on this with me.

I pledge to you that if I can post along the way from Monte San Savino to Munich then home, I will. If the wififififitness of Tuscany foils me, trust I will be spending my time painting and collecting paper scraps and all the things I take in on any given day.

Now I am at a phone booth at Logan with this computer plugged in for a juice break.
All is well.

John O’Donohue writes about the openings that happen when you travel. Catherine giving a squalling child one of her Mardi Gras beads…like that? Or JNB and his big heart opening as we see Ben off on Swiss International.
He will meet us in Florence where David- our exchange student son and his family will welcome us to the beauty of Tuscany.

I will carry you with me.
All my love, S

The final panel of this book is a Collage-a-Day entry

It is Thursday here in Great Barrington.

I brag everyone is accounted for.
I brag I have just done my Spring Cleaning, ironed a bit, poked around the tomato patch and am ready for fun.
I brag I did my writing practice and drawing practice.
I brag I have opened this page to you…a little bit of art to whet your appetite.

I am grateful for all my friends.
I am grateful for this practice of noticing what has fueled me thus far.
I am grateful for nectarines and peaches.
I am grateful for hugs.
I am grateful for my health practitioners.

I desire a whomping fun ride today.
I desire to make 3 small pamphlet books today.
I desire to work on a postcard.
I desire to catch the threads of the idea I have been toying with as the wind plays with kite tails…a certain course of momentum with lots of play in the line.

How about you?
Come on…give me a brag.
Look up at my top header for a description of bragging on the “Key and a bit of Context” page.

Bragging is taking ownership and appreciation of all you have created today.
Gratitude to acknowledging that every breath is a gift of the Infinite to you directly and each stroke of genius that is your life is evidence of that creation.
Desire is the fragrance, a sensory outline of what captures your appetite.

Or it can be celebrated this way:

Daily Happinesses:

1. the white nectarine I had earlier. Yum.
2. having time to work.
3. painted toenails.
4. clean hands and the waterproof band-aid covering a garden blister.
5. hub caring for the kids
6. hub and me going to dancing tonight…just makes me smile thinking about it.
7. quiet neighborhood, no chain saws today.
8. dinner last night…all those veggies wrapped in an omelet.
9. gel medium.
10. this bag of papers from Karen’s pal Terri and the inspiration I get when I touch it’s contents.

That is another way of noticing.

“(S)He alone is great who turns the voice of the wind into a song made sweeter by his own loving.”
Kahlil Gibran

I miss my dear Jan Lawry today. I chose to skip several big things last week, one of which was a trip to Rhode Island to see Jan and our writing Sisters. I hope she knows how much I cherish her.

Okay, I dedicate this page to Jan. I got that Gibran quote from Jan. I started considering myself a writer because of Jan. And that has made all the difference!

Because here I am with you, your eyes across this page completing my deep desire to be read by others. I desire more of this. I desire my book to take physical form so you can hold my words and images, that they might comfort and inspire you.

So, I am deeply and completely grateful to you, cyberfamily, for collaborating with me on this desire.

May a soft breeze and all the angels ride with you this hour.
Yours, S

What are you up to today?
Love, S

When you invite the Divine, your life becomes an altar.

Moments this week:

1. Dragonfly dipping in to the river for a drink right in front of me, yesterday.
2. Skirts of dragonflies all over our trip to Florida.
3. Stepping in to the river with Catherine, both of us sinking in to the clear clean cold river water.
4. Standing in the hallway and being enveloped by my son and his long strong arms, two hearts together.
5. Looking at my husband and knowing in our 20 years, the more we surrender and party with the Present, the more Love, Joy and Ease washes in to our life.
6. My girl’s shoulders going down after a decision was made by stating her truth and letting go of the results.
7. Swimming with Lydi and Jill in the deep blue sea.
8. Hearing from my BHK just when my dreams were brimming with her presence.
9. Calls from BJB to my husband, the 4 of us calling to her with our hearts.
10. Jazz on the radio under the hand of Larry, the rain has ceased, the birds celebrate and all things are just as they are- simple, quiet and rhythm filled.

The fun of these Playdates is the variety of wonderments you send me.
First in the mailbox were Marilyn’s photos of altars around her home and garden. They are such a sweet reflection of her laughter and joy in living.

Another moment to pause and smile in Marilyn's home.

Next I heard from my friend Mary McGinn, also known as Kitty Cavalier. Here is her altar.

Mrs. Mary celebrates her creation!

Do you notice how we each choose to celebrate and honor the elements we want to attract in to our life- a conversation with the Sacred, healing for all- including our plants, fulfilling our desires and making room for inspiration from the Infinite. Some of my Facebook friends spoke about standing under trees or out in nature. Melanie wrote about the ‘grotto’ she and her partner have created as a place to reflect and pray.

All these altars are invitations.

Bonnie’s came next with an altar in her home, at the foot of her magnificent collage kitchen and the other, a view from her family home up North where they go to just be.
Isn’t that what an altar calls you to?

Just Be Here?

In Bonnie's kitchen studio,many things are made including art and dinner. The garden comes in to visit!

Lastly, came Kathy Drue, my wonderful blogging Sister in L’Anse, Michigan. She is posting about simplicity this month. This is where she starts:

Here are Kathy’s words:

It is actually an empty table. It sits in our half-finished basement (a walk-out basement complete with couches and chairs and a bedroom and food room and laundry room and storage room). I like to keep the table empty these days to remind me to honor the emptiness, the silence, as well as the fullness. It used to hold one wooden burled bowl for years, which also seemed to hold the energy of openness holding emptiness.

I can’t quite describe how this empty table makes me feel joyful and alive.

I also put “things” on the table from time to time. Laundry baskets. Empty mason jars headed to the food room. Bits and bobs of life. So whenever I empty off the table–and it’s empty again–there is an inner smile. The emptiness isn’t static. It isn’t really even empty. It’s full.

so that is my altar.

This morning’s Daily Rumi caps it all for me:

Value

Which is worth more, a crowd of thousands,
or your own genuine solitude?
Freedom, or power over an entire nation?

A little while alone in your room
will prove more valuable than anything else
that could be given you.

Tell me about your Altars.
All my love, S

This altar is surrounded in grapevines and olive branches.

Blackberry picking is dangerous.
I scratched my legs today diving in to a haven for the fattest, finest dangling black treasures. I agree with my friend Pearl that dropping one from your already too full fist is like loosing a jewel. That is why we eat so many while picking. Those jewels are never lost. Those interior spots are like sacred holy places to me, cloistered from the hubbub of life on the edge of the berry patch, those inside places call me further in to the bracken.

It is a hot night, not feeling like stirring the jam pot til morning.
Maybe I will freeze this latest batch of berries.

Do you have altars around your house? Nature tables? Shrines?
This stands for a call for entries of photographs or scanned images sent to me of the altars you have around your home or your outdoor space…I am thinking of the little bowl I have for the fairies by my tomato patch, set under a steel Kokopelli sculpture, all in view of the kitchen sink.

Kitchen counter altars. Desk altars. Where you go to pray. Where you stop for sustenance. Some locale in your home that holds a sense of reverence and desire through the objects you place there. These places call us to pause, to hold our desires or prayers or loved ones in our most loving awareness. All this time my Mom has been in the nursing home, I keep pulling out her letters or photos or things she gave me to set on one of my altars, just to keep me in mind of her wholeness. She may be diminishing to Alzheimer’s but my memory of her is alive with detail and joy. My friends who ascribe to the art of Feng Shui have altars all over their homes. My Catholic friends have shrines in their yards with the Blessed Virgin in pretty gardens, sometimes in the bath tub.

I consider the bath tub a sacred spot in my home.

I invite you to share with us here on the Laundry Line a view of your altar or sacred space. Describe it in words or images. I will create a post here on the Line by next Thursday August 5.
Submissions may be sent to laundrylinedivine@gmail.com by Wednesday August 4.

“As I go down to the river to pray…”

All my love, Suzi

Our 3 year collaboration sings on in to this glorious summer.

I am having a doooooozie day of re-entry here. The weather could not be more beautiful- warm, breezy- “a perfect laundry day”- as my Mom used to say. This is why Ben and I hung a load of sheets out earlier.

I am wading through family details, filing forms and all those things that seemed so unnecessary in June.

I am eating blueberries I picked last night on Cone Hill in Richmond, MA.

Life is good. I just had to swing on to the Line for a Pleasure Embellishment then get back to washing my face and getting out of my exercise clothes. I started on this project 5 and a half hours ago. Then the phone rang.

I keep thinking about Michigan and swimming in the Lake. I love to swim. That is all you ever need to know about me. I love to swim.

Of course I keep thinking about Louie too.

What bouys me in the swirl of Motheroverloaddateswashpeoplecallingmynamehaven’twashedmyfaceyet…
is having a Good Mail Day. I have them frequently here in Great Barrington, because I have devoted mail artists in my life like Karen- my “Fe-Mail” collaborator and our pal, Bonnie who just made my day on Saturday when I returned from our trip to a postcard from her.

Karen’s card gives me a mantra for today.
“Authenticity is a daily practice”
Motherhood is a daily practice. Being authentic in this job means some days I don’t wash my face til 4pm and I eat blueberries while on the phone with the insurance company.

Happy Summer Day you all. Party where you are.

Love, Suz