She would say, "we" are the same. We are all that we have always been; we know all that we have ever known; we do all that we have ever done: ever oneness.

No clue. I was always very quiet. What I remember is enjoying watching the sunrise colors, vibrant orange, on the trees and massaging my father's ear as I drank my bottle (my logic? it made the bottle contents colder).

Enjoy? Well, even though it's just paper (thanks to Pres. Nixon), I like to spend it on travel, multimedia (books, CDs,etc.) and support for stuff I like (wolf sanctuary, progressive radio, eco stuff, fair trade tribal arts, etc). Most permanent stuff I buy (sans multimedia) have  back-stories.


aaannnnd, for your morning fancy, here's some money travel musings (We went to see Robert Kiyosaki and Don Trump talk about the money the rest of us don't have. It was my gift from PBS for donating money to the station). "Unengineered" is a term I created to descibe my female academic cohort, all with engineering degrees (MS to PhD), but none of us will do engineering (I wrote a recommendation for one to go back to school. She's now a music archives librarian).

Have a great morning!

ok, yeah ~ from a trip to New York in November (2006) to get versed on the valuelessness of "currency." For being valueless, a darn lot of it was required to spend the night in the city, even in a dive ($400+ [US] for 3 nights...can u believe that???!)

where???...upper east side? lower west side? the middle? who knows where we were...but, what i do know is that the bathroom was on the other side of the building and Rod Serling was in the stairwell on the 8th floor... why was the potty located thru a maze of narrow halls built in a previous century (which was, apparently, inhabited by ghosts since i was the only one who ever seemed to see the little old lady who allegedly lived at the end of the hall)? well, not to strengthen your bladder or see how fast you could run (although those were clear side-effects), but because, to get 3 people in the room, someone would have to stand in the closet (i'm not kidding, dudes...)! the door to the hall just barely cleared the nearest bed (just as the beds barely cleared 5′6″ ~ luckily, we were no taller than 5′5″...) . Hey, you can see how girlfriend's outstretched arm is touching my bed.

The Bates Highrise (not real name, of course) staff was really sweet, though. They said that we were the only nice people from the money seminar attendees. Everyone else had been mean to them (isn't that awful? Just because the attendees didn't have enough $$$ to stay at the Hilton, they were cruel).

lesson? money has been meaningless since it became currency in 1971 CE under ‘tricky dick', but you'd better have a lot of it and/or learn not to be hateful! incidentally, if you didn't know it, Jim Cramer is quite good at picking stocks that will rise in value. i checked over 20 stocks that he mentioned to buy and all but 3 went up in value over the next several days...B-B-B-BOO-yah!

See all the confectionary train wrecks at the blog: Cake Wrecks

Yeah, what some of you have stated is true: one has to be the change first. I think people are naturally activists for that in which they believe and people believe in alot of things; but, sometimes, are only willing to jump in if they see someone else in the river.  I think Gaia is filled with people that jumped in first. I know I've stuck my toes in some tributaries that I might not have had I not been on this site, even though they might be something I believe in.

Off-board, I do my best to apply the first statement and that results in the awareness of others. People that I know, for example, recognize that I respect the Earth Mother by how I live. I'm in that river. And, when I march to the Capitol for the Earth Mother, stand in front of the Nuclear Reg. Bldg, with the Dine & Downwinders, protest in front of the White House against the Iraq War, rally at the state house for climate change legislation, when I do such things, I am "activating" my awareness and, hopefully, activating the awareness of others (or, at least, making them aware to start with) ,

 

Since some of my kozmic Gaia Tribe is on the other side of the world, Happy GGG to you all!!!

Since I won't actually see you, I created a mini-poster to share with you instead. The spiritual interpretation of the gathering day is based on the calendar created by the "kin" from Kincompass.

Also, some of us are meeting in central PA. If you're interested:

The Day & Time: Aug. 9th, 2008 at 10 am

The Place: The Millheim Farmer's Market
                    [Millheim American Legion Pavillion]
                    162 West Main Street
                    Millheim, PA  16854

Here's a google map (it's the last place listed in the index on the left):

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=116308868127454761506.000451fda4afdf4bcf191&z=10

So they won't destract me all day because they make me delve into who I am. Even if I don't plan to delve, my subconscious will be working on the question until I answer it.In the process, I learn alot about myself. Thanks, Siona ~

Sorry for the late gaia gathering post. I'm still being a nomad. Since I was traveling earlier and couldn't go to the DC gathering (and I love Teaism, Steve!), I decided to celebrate the Gaia Gathering Day by honoring the harmony with the Earth Mother in Centre County, PA. My co-conspirator, Leah, & I started it off and Val was going to join us but had an unexpected change of plans (sorry you couldn't make it, Val!).


market music

Centre County is the hodgepodge home of borderline shamans, tree-huggers, multi-caste Amish, a speckling of African-Americans, Penn State University, multi-generational homes and beautiful mountains and streams.


scribe sky (in the hat) and co-conspiritor, Leah (dig our wildflower hair accents!)

The day started in the town of Millheim with a farmer's market full of sustainable produce (and dalmation pups). Then, as part of the "Buy Fresh Buy Local" movement, Leah & I went on a tour of farms practicing sustainable agriculture. As soon as the local krewe (Sharon, Jeff, Bill & Kat) found out we were going to be farm-hopping, it spun off into bike rides, meet-ups & a dinner party at Kat & Bill's place way back in the woods.


hey! It's my favorite Gaiam rug at the Tait Farm!


letting sleeping dogs lie


Leo at the market



The farm-hopping was fun. There were Basset hounds, honeybees, experimental black-eyed peas, chickens, peacocks, bulls, a labyrinth and a medicine wheel (and lots of stuff that we didn't get to). It was a lot of walking (and a lot of wildflowers, including lavender…mmmmmmm…).


Labyrinth (at Piper HIll)

The day ended at Kat & Bill's, where I previously played Runes & goddesses, and where I understand that no full guest list is repeated twice. Sure enough, most of the people from the last party weren't there; instead, a car full of people from Germany showed up. I really connected with Anna, the teenage girl from the German krewe, since she was a musician, liked jazz & photography. Her dad, an economics professor, and some of us talked about the same thing that you posted, Mila: the declining birth rate in Europe, the non-assimilation of immigrant peoples of color (with higher birth rates) and the economic repercussions. So that stuff is the real deal: straight from the front line.


Chicks at Bill & Kat's place


Sharon, the breadmeister (and farm- marm, extrodinaire!)

Ah, but that gave way to Anna & her brother showing us how to do a percussion session with the body as the instrument, then all the guys (ages 4-50) making non-dairy ice cream in that ball thing that you roll around and play with until the dessert is ready, followed by a mini-bonfire under the night sky where Kat & I did the body percussion dance to close the evening.


the ice-cream ball!


da mini-bonfire



So, that's what we did in Millheim and the surrounding countryside on Gaia Gathering Day!

Here's a recipe from Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences (at the Millheim Farmer's Market - yummy!):

Cucumber Salad
(about 4 servings)

2 cups plain, low-fat yogurt, drained
1 cup raisins
1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
1 large cucumber, seeded & sliced
3 tablespoons grated carrots
2 tablespoons mint leaves, minced
fresh-ground black pepper (optional)
pinch of salt (optional)

1. Boil raisins in 1 cup of water for 1 minute. Leave to soak for 5 minutes and drain well.
2. Toast walnuts for 10 minutes in a 350-degree oven. Cool completely.
3. Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Chill for at least 30 minutes, stir before serving.

Nutrition Facts (1 serving):
270 calories
8 g total fat
10 mg cholesterol
95 mg sodium
44 g carbs


part of medicine wheel - Piper Hill

Sunrise – Dawn at the Night House (Akbal)

The edge of re-creating --- sandpipers, seagulls, shells…and the sun, a silently-glowing red disc in the grey & gold haze of dawn…
Stalling, for the briefest moment, to witness & remember each of us, the dreamers of the new light, before its rapid ascent and blinding power reverently wills our eyes closed and sets our visions from the void ablaze!

Moonrise – contemplative werewolfian

Tonight --- a smoldering moon, a shape-shifting moon ---
It slowly wanes as Fay’s winds howl ---

Trailing its illuminated cosmic dust across the jagged,
obsidian Ocean that melts into the universal

darkness and froths at the mouth with
each voracious engulfment of Earth.

I’m in Virginia Beach and it’s the 46th Annual East-Coast Surfing Championship. Surprisingly, it’s the longest running surf competition in this hemisphere. Weird, huh? We have smaller waves than California, I’m sure; but, people dig it. So, one can see amateur and professional surfing and skimboarding. I squeezed a lemon juice on my hair for a natural sun tint at 7 am, hopped over to the beach (which is right across the street) and got an official t-shirt, watched some surfin’ and listened to some tunes! Now, I’m kicked back with a glass of iced coconut water squirted with lime (look out, Gatorade, jelly coconut water really rocks).

Memories of the big skies of summer and being back home to sleep in my own bedroom (finally)! I enjoyed the month of traveling to Amish country, the backwoods & the beach and watching all host of animals (female bovines have horns?), seeing awewome landscapes & pondering whether I should learn to surf or something; it looks fun (I also pondered the darkly-tanned bodies and sun-kissed hair of surf dudes...hmmmm...and I think I need at least 2 weeks at the beach to get my hair a sun-burnished color. I'm not sure about frying in the sun. Besides, you should be either all tanned or all not - no tan lines!).

I'm also really happy to start my...(pseudo-geek alert!)...SQL homework (any minute now). I'm excited about learning the database query language stuff! Does that sound geeky?

So, I was reading Lee's response to what gives him joy today and got all lathered up about soap! Now, this means that my SQL homework is going to have to wait a minute for me to say that my favorite soap is Dr. Bronner's! Yeah, the "ALL ONE" and "spaceship earth" guy!

I want a laundry room painted soft lavender where I can hang my articles about Dr. B 'n other stuff (like my autograph by his first son, Ralph). The soap is fab and Dr. B was way cool!

If you don't know, Dr. B's family had a soap factory in Germany (he told the rest of his family to come to America too, because that Nazi stuff looked like trouble. Some of his family stayed and I don't think he ever heard from them again). In this country, he made soap in his tub and gave it out on the street where he preached his wild and loving philosophies. People would hover, grab some soap and run (it's that good). Dr. B was institutionalized, too (in Illinois and underwent shock treatment). It was his 2nd or 3rd attempt to escape, I think, that was successful (ha! I love it! I'm trying to remember, on the fly; I met his son, Michael, at a DC Green festival).

He and his family have been making soap ever since. Doesn't look like you can get a gig there, though. People seem to be so happy at his company that nobody leaves. One of the women hired at the beginning of his American soap industry said that Dr. B. interviewed her wearing a leopard-print swimsuit. I believe the Bronner sons have both Palestinians and Jews working together now to produce the olive oil for their castile soap. Dr. B would've like that.

 ALL ONE!

morning sage-burning, warm-lemon water and thanks to the universe for my blessings.

Well, summer is at an end. I do love autumn; but, spending my mornings on the beach this past week has been a healing transition between the seasons. I unexpectedly stumbled into the surfing championships last year; but, now I'm addicted!



And I loved walking along the oceanfront at dawn! I may have to make this a yearly ritual. It was so mind-clearing (and the sand is like a big pumice stone for your feet)! You would think that there would be a lot of people out there; but, not at all.

So, I'm back in the office now, my hair semi-contained (not all wild and free like on the beach); but I feel cleansed, mentally, physically & spiritually.

That I was glad to be home after a month of traveling about and soaking in the summer. It was fun; but, there's no place like home!

Wow, I thought about the neo-con guy at work (I still don't know his name; but, we get into it about freedom of speech 'n stuff: he wouldn't let his daughters listen to the Dixie Chicks because of their statement about Dub-ya); but, no, I didn't see him, but he waved and said, hi, to get my attention and I responded. then I was going to say the woman at the grocery store this morning; but, no, we actually did greet each other.

Ok, I've got it! The woman at sandwich shop last night, I didn't speak to her and, maybe I should have (HA! maybe there's sweet, syrupy stuff in my oozing words!) because she got mad at the cashier because she said he was trying to sell her 3 cookies instead of 2 and she wanted to talk to a manager about it and she told him that he didn't want her to get loud up in there.

Maybe she needed a little attention because that was weird! I smiled at the cashier and told him everything was going to be fine.

Weird!

Ok, you tea-lovers, as requested, I'll host the first meeting of the Naked Tea Society ~ it's rainy and cool and night is falling at longitude 77 west. Here's the ambiance, play the song and read on: 


 

Let the day's issues slide to the floor with your dresses and jeans....it's Tea Time! Go get your cup and none of that "tea bag" stuff: Camellia S. wants to be unconstrained so she can stretch out and reveal her full-bodied flavors and aromas......me? I like her steamed, lightly fermented and rolled in jasmine; but, you tell me...how do you like it?

I still have friends in Wisconsin (Madison & Milwaukee) who attended UW with me. I believe they are the farthest away. We keep in touch via email, IM & facebook. Long live the Badger!

...and Labor Day and Boxcar Willie Day! It's truly Sunday in Maryland (at about 88 degrees F) - a beautiful and breezy and lazy late summer day. It's a dreaming day and a friend just sent me this song by the Mahotella Queens and it fits today's mood. It's called Mbube (the American version was called "Wemoweh"). This is a slow groove of it performed at a 2007 NY folk festival. Enjoy!