Hiked around this pond with my son: Round Pond, in Mendon Ponds Park. We saw 24 deer, 3 woodchucks, and a cardinal. Also 2 women on horses. The horses wore nets around their faces, and the women carried long swishy brooms, to swipe insects, I presume.

We saws tons of blackberry bushes, and sampled the first ripe berries. Very flavorful, seedy.

Today I got lost, got back on track, walked into the inner city (slightly alarming), went to a museum and looked at ancient Assyrian marble carvings; Thai, Afghan, and Indian Buddhas; script from a Qur'an; a quilt by Faith Ringgold; a sculpture by Frederick Remington; a painting by Grandma Moses; and a sculpture by Henry Moore. Also a mummy and his sarcophagi (yes, he had 2: anthropomorphic and rectangular).

Also went to several parks and a zoo.

Went on a hike and had supper with my wonderful son. Tomorrow: 9 1/2 hour drive home.

yesterday

This is a crystal finial on the banister at the George Eastman mansion in Rochester NY.

pic of the day

Giant oak tree in Genesee Valley Park

angels and spirals

ArtisanWorks

I fed this horse grass and clover

I'm in Rochester, NY; visiting my son.

We toured the RIT campus, I wandered around Mendon Ponds Park, and we went to ArtisanWorks: a warehouse full of paintings, sculptures, artists, music, and installations. A way cool place: http://www.artisanworks.net/ I loved the Frank Lloyd Wright room. It referenced 40 different Wright sites.

I don't know how many paintings there are there, but I can't believe there could be so many paintings in one gallery: hundreds. Thousands? A lot. We met the founder and his father; both warm & amicable.

See the pic of RIT, all the bricks? Reminds me so much of my dreams of Dublin.

And I see spirals everywhere.

It's been a fabulous trip so far. Perfect company; perfect summer weather; gorgeous gardens, wildlife, art, and food. Food? Went to an Indian buffet yesterday: curry, lentil stew, tofu balls, and mango pudding. E's roommate made crepes this morning; and provided as fillers: fresh strawberries, blueberries, and sauteed peaches- to top it off: melted chocolate. yumm. Today - great salad at an outdoor cafe downtown. Went to an Asian market and bought some dried mango. The best part? My son, of course. And all of his life: J & her family, school, classes, work, home, roommates, heat transfer, cyborg ethics, computers, soccer, focus, responsibility, humor, compassion, & maturity.

Great vacation.

summer!

It's summer and I'm on vacation. Sure is nice to be a teacher.

Here's my To Do list:

* Reiki at the cancer center

* Write

* Be a camp nurse for 3 weeks

* Spend time with family & friends

* Swim, hike, garden, walk, yoga

* Relax & enjoy

laundry

Had the most thrilling laundry experience of my life today. I bought a new washer and drier, white, from Sears. Josh from New Hampshire delivered them. He and his buddy carried them across the lawn in a gait belt sort of sling. Hmmm, interesting method of transport.

Anyway. Took them all of 5 min to install, tipped them $20 and they were gone.

Easy. Except the drier. I had to schlep back to Sears for a drier vent hose and then assemble. Scrunched up tin foil hose and metal clamps. Took me the whole wash cycle to assemble & attach the vent hose. It was fun to pull it out to it's full length. Like a tumescent slinky, or something.

Washed and dried a load of laundry. Sat outside and talked on cell to sis as I watched the breezes from the drier vent waft the horsetail, Equisetacea, a living fossil.

Yoga Workshop

Here's the link to register for our Yoga/Ayurveda/Reiki workshop on Aug 21, 2010.

http://www.sattvahealthandwellness.com/seminars.html 

The workshop will be held in Windham, Maine at Kathy Deschene's Raindrop Yoga Studio. Sandra Maguire of Sattva Health & Wellness will teach ayurvedic medicine, and I will do a short segment on reiki. Most of the day will be yoga: asanas, kirtan, and meditation with Yogi Arvind Zanje of Ahmadabad, India.

The classes are for people of all learning and ability levels. Please join us!

Summerfest Windham Maine

Wow, what a hot and windy day. It was 91 degrees, and breezes so gusty they picked up and tipped over our tent and my wooden table.

It was great to meet Sandra and Kathy. Sandra owns Sattva Health & Wellness and Kathy is the proprietor of Raindrop Yoga Studio. They are both kind, warm, and wonderful. I totally enjoyed my day. I spun some wool, passed out bookmarks, and ate a great taco from Ron's Mexican. There were constant helicopter rides, a sweet rock band, and a few interesting people. Reiki Master Doug, email me!

The co-best part was meeting Sandra and Kathy. I so look forward to our Yoga/Ayurveda/Reiki workshop in August with Beloved Yogi Arvind Zanje. The other best part? Summer in Maine. Tomorrow is Summer Solstice.

book

Here's a pic of me with my cousin, Peter. The pic is from his birthday party last month in Sacramento.

There's a whole chapter about Peter in my book. I'm going to a book signing tomorrow at the Windham Maine Summerfest. I'll be in the Sattva Health & Wellness and Raindrop Yoga Booth. Come find us!

House blessing

Today some dear friends came to help me bless my new house. I read a Yeats poem and talked about transitions and crone wisdom. I played my bronze Tibetan sound bowl. We opened all the doors and windows, even closet and cupboard doors. We smudged with sage, traced reiki symbols in every corner, dowsed for and released negative energy, and said prayers. Then we each planted something in the garden. I felt lighter; I felt like I was home.