going electronic... eBook on your iPad

That's right. Coming soon to an iPad near you... Reiki Nurse, the eBook! Just in time for Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa. My wonderful publishers at BookLocker are converting paper to screen.

After moving 8 boxes of books into my new house this weekend, eBooks seem quite sensible. Books are heavy, they take up a lot of space, they get dusty and even moldy, and did I mention they take up a lot of space?

On the other hand, print books are wonderful. You can read at the beach. You can loan them to your friends. They make great gifts. You can curl up in a soft chair in front of the fireplace and turn pages for hours.

So which is it for you? Print or screen?

some red berries

It's November, so much of the foliage is gone. We do have red berries and evergreens, and today temps in the 60s again. I sat on my deck in the sun after work.

turkeys

Saw a flock of turkeys today. They were in a small tree right beside the sidewalk. A flock of them, maybe a dozen, in the tree, eating red berries. Made me think perhaps they were stuffing themselves with cranberries, the week before Thanksgiving. Of course cranberries usually grow in bogs, you'll say, but perhaps this was a hybrid high-bog berry tree. And maybe there was a gravy river down the road and mashed potato clouds. OK, really thinking about Thanksgiving dinner here. Back to the turkeys. They were glossy black and gray amongst the red berries. There were turkeys in the tree and some on the ground, and they flapped up and down from tree to ground.

is it really November in Maine?

My garden. There are still blooming mums and lettuce ready to pick. It was sunny and 62 F (16.6C) degrees today. The dog and I walked around Bates Campus for an hour, watching the light, the ducks, and the other dogs. We saw a 5 month-old Portuguese Water Dog, a giant yellow Lab, and a small white terrier. 

yoga

This is a picture of my yogi, Arvind Zanje. He is a super yoga teacher. He teaches yoga in Ahmedabad, India in the winter, and at the teen camp in the summer. He also teaches tennis and designs yoga rooms. So he's pretty amazing. 

I take yoga classes with Arvind in the summer. One year he said I was good enough to be a yoga teacher myself; he gave me a teacher's certificate. 

Today I taught my first class: here at the assisted living facility. There were 4 students: the 35-year-old Activities Director, two 85 year-olds, and one 89 year-old lady. It was one lady's birthday. It was their first yoga class. We did mountain, tree, cobbler, and staff asanas. We did child's pose and cat. We did twists and stretches.We will work towards downward dog and sun salutations. Five residents sat in a circle around us and watched. Mr M slept through the whole thing. 

Thank you, Arvind. Your teaching is spreading through the community. Namaste.

newborn baby

Got to hold a baby today; Gaige was just 8 hours old when I held him. He slept in my arms; with his soft head, clear pink skin, and newborn snufflings. His mom said she felt the reiki I sent over the phone. Congratulations.

review by Mark LaFlamme

Esteemed author, columnist, and crime reporter Mark LaFlamme reviewed Reiki Nurse recently. LaFlamme is the author of The Pink Room, Dirt, Vegetation, Asterisk, and now: Box of Lies. 

Mark Laflamme rated Reiki Nurse 

An amazing book whether you're familiar with Reiki or if you're an outsider. An outstanding glimpse into the medical field, written with such flair you can smell the antiseptic. Kendall writes in a way that is both introspective and illuminating. If you think you know all about the medical field because you watch MASH or Scrubs, think again. Kendall writes of things that will send your eyebrows up to the top of your forehead. A highly recommended read.

PastLifeSoul

Gotta tell you about my sister and her website.
https://sites.google.com/site/pastlifesoul/
My sister is freakin amazing.
She can look at you and read one of your past lives. She channels, talks to spirits, and she knows stuff. She can probably read you over the phone.

She's genius smart and an artist too.
She's my best friend. Please check out her site.
https://sites.google.com/site/pastlifesoul/

Oh, the pic of us? Farmer's Market near Sacramento May 2010. We bought pistachios and cherries.

lonely dog, again

OK, here she is: the lonely dog.
Came home today to find she'd chewed the beads off a pillow. It's a handmade pillow, with beads all around the outer edge. I got it at a Christmas craft fair last year. It's yellow and blue brocade, a wise man in the center, and beads all around.

Well, there used to be beads all around.

She's never done this before. She's 11 and I met her when she was 2 days old. She fit into the palm of my hand.

She moved to the city, to my new house, 2 months ago. Summer was OK, but now I go to work every day, for 10 hours or so. She told Jen, the animal whisperer, that she wants a cat.

Today when I came home from work the pillow was on the couch, 2 sides of beads chewed off. Beads were strewn all over the couch. It was a beady mess.  She didn't bark when I got home, or meet my eyes.

So, she's going crazy from loneliness? I leave the radio on for her.

I really REALLY don't want a cat. Cats are scary. They look at you and could start hissing at any moment. They could stick out their claws and jump at your face. They could chew on you. Cats are scary. Plus the whole icky litter box thing. Bad enough I have to carry a plastic bag when I take the dog for a walk.

So that's the dilemma. Crazy dog or get a cat? Animals to outnumber humans in my new house? Spend my free time picking up canine & feline feces? *sigh* Your opinion?

Got a spare cat?

Went to a talk last night at the local university. I imagined the speaker at the front of a huge darkened auditorium: an audience of eager young minds.

Nope. It was a smallish room. Bright fluorescent lights. Everyone seemed to know each other. They were all couples, in jeans or nice corduroys, with matching white hair and fleece jackets. They greeted each other enthusiastically. They spoke to each other in low voices about dinner and haircuts. There were a few students; they seemed to know the elders too.

I sat alone, at the back, in my embroidered purple top and scented oil: a loner hippie. It was my big exciting smart university event, except it turned out to be senior date night. Oh well.

The speaker arrived, flushed and excited, panicked over possibly being late and definitely desperately having parked on the sidewalk. She was passionate and eloquent. I was fascinated by  the depth of her knowledge. I appreciated hearing the latest info in my field.

She took questions. There were political nuances associated with her topic. The audience was a bit hostile, or am I too sensitive?

I spoke with the speaker and gave her my book.

So maybe it wasn't what I'd imagined. It was still a great night because I learned a lot.

reiki on Friday

Reiki Friday at the cancer center, yay! It's been a few weeks and I really miss it. I miss the warmth, the hugs, the people- - and most of all: the reiki energy. I love diving into that meditative state, hooking up with the symbols, and channeling energy. So Friday, in just a few days... reiki!

I'll be working with another practitioner, even better. Our energies will mingle and double. My consciousness will expand. Hopefully healthy energy will flow through all of us.