dog & leaves

 We went for a walk today. It was 70 degrees F: sunny & gorgeous.

lacrosse

I watched some lacrosse this weekend. The sun was beating down but the wind was cold. Fans were bundled in fleece and jeans.

Strange sport. I could not figure out the rules, even which way they were going or if there were a goal.

It seems to be a blend of football, soccer, wrestling, and acrobatics.

The ball is shaped like a kumquat: pointy at both ends. Who can catch that? If thrown, it bounces in serendipitous ways.

The teams travel together in bunches. They throw each other around, and happily pile atop one another.

Sometimes they fold each other up, and pummel an opponent into the soil. Some players wear nylon bonnets.

They lift smaller players, in order to catch the ball. All of sudden there is a pyramid of players; they go vertical.

Like soccer, lacrosse is played in the best season: fall. Autumn for you purists. The leaves are flaming yellow, cranberry red, or pumpkin orange. No bugs. Nice sun and blue sky. The grass is still green, what could be better? Ok, sometimes the wind is bitterly cold to our summer bodies. Hey, this would be a wonderfully warm day in February. We would love this day in February, so stop complaining. Put on a jacket. Not quite glove weather, but hey, it's coming.

Lacrosse. It's great. Lots of enthusiasm, positive energy, sun, and piles of athletes. What could be better?

dog seeking cat

Apparently, my dog is lonely. My friend Jen and her husband Chris came over today. Jen is an animal communicator. She told me that Fluff wants a cat. Not a dog. Fluffernutter said I would pay too much attention to another dog; she doesn't want a dog. She wants a cat. Not a rambunctious PIA kitten: an old cat.

Cats are OK, but I don't really like cats. They scare me a little. I think a lion must have chewed on me in a past life. And the litter box. Fluff, are you going to empty the litter box? No. I didn't think so. According to Jen, Fluff knows I wouldn't pay much attention to a cat: that's good in her opinion. But a cat would be a companion to her while I'm away at work all day, also good, in her opinion.

My sister Catherine said, "Ha! It's like a kid wanting a pony for Christmas". She said I don't have to get a cat for Fluff.

I mean, I don't want Fluff to be lonely. But I REALLY don't want a cat. You know, cats are nice. I like cats, in theory.  But the litter box. The whole, do you let them outside? thing. Cats are scary.

My dog wants a cat.

Canada!

Hello Canada. I love your country. I love your health care system and your accent. I know, you don't have an accent: we do.

I love your infrastructure: roads, parks, bridges, and fish hatcheries. I've never tried that dish with french fries, gravy, and cheese curds- - but it does sound good.

Quebec, and Quebec City are way cool. I love the Chateau Frontenac. I don't blame you for Benedict Arnold. Crepes are good. Vin aussi.

And don't forget Anne of Green Gables. I love that book. My dad read it to my sons when they were small. I read it to them too.

I've been to Quebec City and Montreal. I'd love to go to Nova Scotia and PEI. Canada!

thank you

to my readers in the US, Vietnam,

Canada Russia Australia Belgium South Korea Ukraine Hungary, and Switzerland. The Internet is amazing. What I write goes all over the world. So I sit here at my favorite assisted living facility,  typing on my blog, and I look around. I look at the snoozing elders. They are 80 and 90 years old. Mr M is slumped into a soft chair, newspaper tucked beside him. He reads it all day, when awake. I wonder if he's ever used a computer. Some of the ladies ventured out into the blasting cold wind, to walk at the gym. I smell apples and soup. I hear the furnace, and the cook clattering in the kitchen. The sun is shining through the yellow leaves of the maples outside.

wow

way too busy

may I be Frank

Went to this movie last night, met Frank, wow! This movie is the inspirational story of a regular guy who turns out to be an incredible man. Here's a link to Cafe Gratitude in San Francisco, the setting of the documentary: http://www.mondaynightliveevents.com/ and here's a link to the movie page: http://www.mondaynightliveevents.com/

The director, Gregg Marks, and Frank Ferrante himself were there to answer questions and meet people. The film documents Frank's personal journey. I'm going to quote the film's web page now,

"Frank Ferrante is a 54 year old Sicilian from Brooklyn living in San Francisco.  A lover of life, great food, beautiful women and a good laugh, Frank is also a drug addict, morbidly obese, pre-diabetic, and fighting Hepatitis C. He’s estranged from his daughter, single, and struggling with depression. Frank knows that life can be better than this, and is looking for a way out.

May I Be Frank documents the transformation of Frank Ferrante’s life."

So please check out this film. You can invite them to your town for a showing. Do it!

lake

Here's the lake where I walk. I get out of work and rush over here with the dog to catch the day's last rays. I look at the plants, the architecture, and the people. I've seen tailgate parties, soccer games, and construction workers. There are squirrels, and the poor leashed dog longs to chase them. There is a sculpture of a cat, a big cat, like a tiger or a bobcat. The dog bristles and barks at this statue. There are ducks and seagulls on the pond: dog ignores them. We brush against the web of community. We absorb the light on this hill, revel in the peaceful oasis of privileged and educated people.

what we do

You have an abrasion? A laceration? Rash, anxiety, muscle ache, mosquito bite, or sprain? Your local nurse has the cure and the sympathetic shoulder. Just call, or stop by. Nurses rock. 

shifting into autumn

Really changing into autumn now. The leaves are gold and orange. We're wearing socks and sweaters.

I like to walk on the local college campus. Yesterday there was a football game. People drove from all over New England. There were tailgate parties, parents in expensive clothes, and excited students. It smelled like barbecue sauce. I overheard a guy saying to his friend, "If   -'s parents weren't here today I'd be getting obliterated."

There's a good reason to visit your child at college. You may be saving a few brain cells, many liver cells.

sumac and poison ivy

fall colors in Farmington, yesterday

today in Farmington

Had one of those great days in Farmington. Hung out with the elders, drank coffee, went to Farmer's Market for local organic vegies, spent lots of money at Nina's (party food), more coffee, talked about angels with Julia, tried to reach the Young Woman in the shoe for a walk, didn't. So went on a long walk with the dog. The poison ivy is pretty right now, crimson leaves that look nice with the sumac.

abandoned mills

Lewiston's abandoned mills. Look how beautiful.Who goes there? What do they look like inside? I'm guessing massive wooden beams and plank floors, oiled steel machinery, dust, and ghosts.

Just think of all the stories. Each brick, created and laid with care. The factory, the fabric, the planning. The girls, culled from farms and towns in Quebec and Maine. The eager boys, wild for adventure in the city. The crammed apartments, the trudge to work, the camaraderie, the clanking, and the drudgery.

Now look. Peaceful, created with such ambition; now imploding from loneliness, abandoned. Such potential, such beauty: access to natural resources like water, people, sun, and fresh air.... now empty and alone.

Wow, what an intense weekend. Friday I did reiki at the cancer center, and finally met my boss. He is charismatic, kind, and caring. He has beautiful energy. His sister, M, runs the center and he visits annually. M is an angel. She works from an open heart, wide open heart chakra.

So Friday I did reiki with B, a new practitioner. He said he saw my energy as a green glow, and my energy went into the client. Our energies meshed nicely, and he established rapport with the clients easily; he will be awesome. It's so wonderful to work there. After reiki B and I went to the park to deliver tables for the reiki weekend. It was pouring rain. John was there too, visiting from DC. I've been friends with John since I was 12 and he was 13. The ground was squishy and the rain was pounding down; we lugged reiki tables into the tents. Then John came to see my new house and I made him tea. M had given me the tea, and it was complicated. Not tea bags. I had to boil the leaves until the water turned green, and then add a teaspoon of the spice mix.

The tea came out way strong. It was like espresso tea. We gagged and choked it down anyway: we are thrifty. Then John went off, to other friends.

Saturday and Sunday was reiki in the tents. I went back and forth between the big Reiki/Massage tent and the  tiny private corner of another tent. We had like 5 tables and 10 practitioners in the Reiki/Massage tent. The athletes came in after the trek... they walked, ran, or biked 10, 25, 50, or 100 miles: over 4000 of them. They all had stories. The stories are the best part.

The clients, the message, magical reiki practitioners, the staff... the cancer center is amazing. I am so lucky to be part of that place, so blessed to do reiki with people.

Reiki at the cancer center is the best part of my life.