STOP THE PRESSES! New Blog

I have a birth announcement! I have a new subblog - dangling blog - a blog just for my etsy stuff. Wanna see?
Creative Stew at

NOTE: Well, OK then, the gremlins are at work == no link published! Here ya go:
http: creativestu4u.blogspot.com

Mark of Distinction

A passport stamp that is ... Many of the countries I've travelled to don't stamp passports anymore - just a quick glance or notation, whatever.

A few times, fellow travellers have asked that their passports be stamped and were given the 'malocchio'(Italian) or 'stink eye' (Hawaiian) by the customs official.

Any exotic marks of distinction on your passport?

Wednesday's Thought

Dreams come true when they are held quietly in the heart.
Don't tell your dreams to the world - whisper them to love,-Deepak Chopra, "The Path to Love"
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Jiminy Cricket and Deepak Chopra were on to something - dreams - heart healing.

Monday's Poem, courtesy of ee cummings

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in my heart)

i am never without it (anywhere i go you go, my dear;
and whatever is done by only me is your doing, my darling)
i fear no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet)
i want no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;
which grows higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart
i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)

Photography

"You can't depend on your eyes if your imagination is out of focus." - Mark
Twain

Mark Twain was a wise man. Photography is an outlet, the harmony in the song of life, the lens to your creativity It provides you the chance to show others how you see life ... visual candy. And just maybe it will resonate with them too!

Photography has been a part of my life for, well, let's see, over 30 years. I still consider myself an amateur. Such a creative impetus, it provides for me the calmness of meditation, the satisfaction of the senses.

When you unleash your imagination and let your creativity spill over the lines, then the uniqueness of your photography becomes a snapshot of you, the photographer, the person.

The Communion of Two Hearts

One of my life list items(or 'Bucket List Items" as in 'before you kick the bucket') is to learn more about the Hawaiian culture. It has always been a curiosity to me since living in the Islands and now, even more so, because Hawaii is closer to my heart.

I was given the gift of mana cards, sort of like tarot cards with a Hawaiian 'punch'. As much of the Hawaiian culture is documented by an oral tradition, wonderfully illustrated mana cards give a clearer snapshot into the interpretation of Hawaiian symbols and tradition. It is a resource to understanding what it all means in relation to ourselves, our beliefs, our relationships.

My email name has been 'menehune' for many years as I became infatuated with these magical and mystical spirits thirty years ago. As Catherine Becker notes, you may interpret the menehune as someone who can accomplish amazing feats; they sometimes act as a reminder to step back and take account of what you are doing as there is more than one way to view a situation. Patience, persistance, attention to detail -- ah, my soulmate, the menehune ..

What's on your Bucket List?

What's your Mantra?

I’m daily reminded of mine – "Be in the here and now". That philosophy brought my partner and me together again after 20+ years of being apart.

A new one is percolating inside me … “Be still and trust the process.” Why? Because my dear friend keeps reciting and repeating that to me…impatient that I am .. not a true Capricorn. One of the characteristics of being the goat is patience - not a strong suit of mine~




So, what's your mantra?

It's My Life

Like the chorus from one of Bon Jovi's songs:

It's my life
It's now or never
I ain't gonna live forever
I just want to live while I'm alive
(It's my life)

So, today, let loose -- do what's in your mind, your heart, your soul.... sing out loud, dance naked, smile for no reason at all....