Wishing everyone…….

A Merry

and

a 

Happy

….

XO

Wordless Wednesday...

Since I'm otherwise preoccupied.....I thought I'd try the 'wordless' fun

Valles Caldera, NM

no link cuz it's a '.gov' thing

what are those people thinking?

Oh, it appears this is not really wordless....

I'm not sure I can do 'wordless'

Georgia on my mind.....

just home one day from the state of Washington

and I could not refuse an invitation to visit

O'Keeffe Country

It was the second time I've been privileged to visit Georgia O'Keeffe's home and studio in 

Abiquiu, NM....

this time followed by a tour of Ghost Ranch to experience her vistas....

They are very protective of this land and her home.....

NO PHOTOS allowed of her home....NO SKETCHING even....

and for that I was grateful.....as it takes the pressure off

and allows the visitor to just

BE HERE NOW.

I love Georgia's aesthetic.....simple and clean.....only the necessary items displayed....along with rocks

and as I left it was not lost on me that with all of this simplicity....

she did have TWO homes

and not very small at that.

I was able to sneak this shot from the road outside her compound....

we stayed in a little adobe house across the street......

I love this place

and the views from it

are 

breathtaking

Whidbey Island.......

Aldermarsh

I apologize in advance as I've lost the ability to edit amongst this abundance

I swear I heard the flowers sing.....

in this magical place

and I certainly saw them dance

as they bowed to applause....

a faery land....

for sure...

If you are curious as to what I was up to in this amazing place...

Joanna has summed up our experience on her blog...

Before I leave...

As I rushed around to get things in order before I leave for my Whidbey Island adventure....

I thought to peer down the lane for a sign like this.....

and then collected some of

these...

A bit early in the season, and they've just started to drop

hopefully my competition won't have beaten me to the rest of them

before I return...

however grateful for what I have now

as it really does seem enough

Too much?....or MUCH MUCH MORE

It's been a busy summer, or rather a really busy end of the summer.....

This Summer after hitting wall after wall in the Spring,

 I finally feel I broke through some barriers.

I found a studio...

I moved...

a long personal separation ordeal (OK, divorce) moved closer to being resolved ...

and am excited to say.....

I'm in the process of buying a little place for myself.
(in that order)

I have traveled this summer in all directions through New Mexico.....
through the far dry east plains to Portales and Clovis for the New Mexico Historic Society conference,
to Silver City in the southwest to experience the Clay Festival,
to Taos to enjoy Chamber Music

and last weekend to Denver in the north for a Healing Touch regional conference...

and right now, for the next 7 weeks I'm taking an on line course with
Claire Zamett and Katherine Woodward called 'Awakening your Feminine Power'....
an amazing course of revelation and evolutionary thought

In September I'll be headed to Whidbey Island, north of Seattle, 

for a retreat with Joanna Powell Colbert......
and meet up with my beautiful friend Michelle

where I'll stay a few days longer and soak up the moist salt air...

and then head to Georgia O'keeffe country in Abiquiu and Jemez Springs here in
The Land of Enchantment

then in October, days after I sign the final papers on my new place,

 I'll head to Sunrise Ranch, north of Denver 

to embark on the 4th Level instruction of  Healing Touch practice. 

I'll return from that to immerse myself into my new space....

and try to fit the proverbial '10 pounds of potatoes into the 5 pound sack' again......

and I expect I'll be cleaning and painting and planning to move the rest of my 'stuff' I've had in storage for two years back in Michigan,

(and renegotiate the 'stuff' in my studio)

And through all this planning and pushing and moving and traveling and learning and evolving......

I've also been taking a small metals class where I rent a bench......

and 

have made

these...

chains and baubles and such...

All of this, by the way, courtesy of saying "YES",

"I will do this, I will experience this, I am open to this idea"

and trusting I will be shown the way...

I asked Jean Houston a question when I was in the midst of a struggle to leave my safe little casita in
Mountainair to move to Albuquerque......

from being a country mouse to a city mouse...

you see, I was afraid of loosing my connection with nature...

and she said to me the words she often repeats in response...

"The Answer Is: BOTH/AND and MUCH MUCH MORE, it is not EITHER/OR"

So this summer I am living the BOTH/AND

and

MUCH MUCH MORE

S-L-O-W....making

Done - Finished -Fini

you can see it's inception here, here and here

Be Here Now....

When I arrived in New Mexico two years ago,

 I was introduced to this Iconic Book by Ram Dass,

describing his journey to enlightenment...

and realized I was probably the only one of my age group who had not read it....

(of course in 1971 I was 20 and raising a 2 year old,
thus not reading books about our expansive universe, but that's another story...)

Ever since I learned where it was originally published

I've been curious about this place....

It is a commune that still exists just north of Taos

down a long and winding dirt road 

please enjoy my visit...

It was in between workshops and conferences that day we visited...

and was very 

quiet.

Which suited me well.

We were pointed around the community by our guide Seth who'd been living there for 4 years...

I asked him how the community was sustained...

his reply...

"It's a miracle"

We stayed for quite some time....wandering freely about the large compound

We were invited to partake of their food, and tea and invited to dinner which we declined...

and although it all appeared very 70's 'commune' in it's intention....

there was something very grounded and current about it's residents.

Seth explained they receive much of their money from workshops and hermitages held on the property

and all of that was very intriguing to me....

especially the hermitage possibility.

Learning of daily heart centered meditation and yoga

and seeing sleeping bodies all around

made for a very peaceful place indeed.

Learn more about the Lama Foundation here...

You can also google for it and find some interesting first hand experiences and videos about the property