October Glory

Today was the day we set for taking Ma out for her promised Birthday drive. Many years ago , she and I were wandering backroads and got lost-just a little lost. When we discovered roughly where we were it was getting late and the road was getting rural--really rural. So we turned around and determined that we would find that rooad again some day. A few months ago, while shopping the "antiques" shops I found a book. It tells the tale of of a single woman as she waled that road , 9 miles through the notch in the mountains. AHHHHH. What a great birthday gift !!! That and the promise of a ride ( Ma doesn't walk 9 miles anymore, though she'd truly have loved to today ) through the notch.Yes rained cats and dogs , and I gotta tell ya that I was a wee bit nervous that it would rain out the plans. But the day broke with beautiful golden sun. The leaves in these parts have turned that brassy- gold color with splashes of yellow -green and the beginnings of russet ( I do believe that it is the oaks that lends that color. ) The sky was unbelievably blue with an occasional cloud tinged with a barely-there purple belly. We couldn't be any luckier. Yes, the road had significant wash out in some areas, but we managed to get around - or through. Oh the day couldn't have been better if e'd ordered it up.

A Day at the Museum

A day much anticipated , both by me and my grandson. It was a birthday adventure. And what could be more fun than some time spent with dinosaurs and other cool stuff? Especially if you've just turned 5.

This is one of my all time favorite museums. I was treated to this museum as a kid on a school trip and I've been sure to bring my own son, nephew, granddaughter,grandson and classes of school kids when I was living in my past life as an art teacher. What a treasure.... the Harvard Museum of Natural Historyhttp://www.hmnh.harvard.edu/. My favorite spot has always been the glass flowers http://www.hmnh.harvard.edu/on_exhibit.html , but not so much for a five year old boy. But I've got to tell you they are UNBELIEVABLE ! ( Created in Germany and shipped over here by ship in the 1900's. And they are ALL glass. To look at them one can hardly believe it ! ).

But the 5 year old monkey DID enjoy so very many other treasures. His favorite ...the kronosaurus.

I've got to admit that it is pretty impressive - a water creature. But for comparison's sake , you need only take a short walk down a hall to find whale bones with balleen intact .

Some of the other favorites..... walking sticks and leaf bugs , of course.

Can you see what a treasure this place is? We do not enjoy the varieties of bugs such as these in my part of the world and I would heartily laugh if someone were to describe them to me. It would seem like a phenomenal joke to me. But to be able to see so many wonders in the world not available easily to us is a treasure.

We wondered further into the museum to behold great jewels.....well actually just rocks. Ah , but SUCH rocks. Some are jewels. My little friend truly enjoyed these almost as much as the dinosaurs. And serendipitously, or should I say synchronistically, the first glass case he stopped at and was delighted by was the one containing the rhodochrosite. I say this because the Mister just returned from a business trip from Argentina, whose national gem is none other than the rhodochrosite. If you like the color pink, this is the stone for you.

And how about this specimen? Looks like it has grown out of a frozen tundra.

There is so much more to show and tell !!! I think that I'll just wait for another time to continue my little guided tour. But if you get the opportunity , if you're in the Boston /Cambridge area be sure to take a little time to explore for yourself. I guarantee it will be worth your time.

Wishing you an adventurous day, Cyth

The Universe Sings

Oh I've been so intrigued since reading on the Resurrection Fern blog http://resurrectionfern.typepad.com/ about singing yeast cells. I loved learning that energy from the cells is emitted and could be technologically made audible to our human ears. Such an ethereal sound it was, as though singing through the cosmos, or like lyrical underwater musings. I was truly as delighted as a young child discovering the first hidden Easter egg. Just think of all the yeast cells , or any old cells, out there singing their life, singing the joy of being. ( Oh, what about the yeast cells within our bodies. Do our bodies muffle the sound? Can they communicate through our bodies to cells in the "free world" ? What about the other cells in our body? Do they all sing a different tune depending on their function? Oh..... the questions ! )

Initially I felt saddened that we couldn't hear their songs with just our own auditory equipment. But as I continued to imagine all the possible kinds of songs sung by all the infinite life manifestations, I realized that we would be bombarded with noise. ( I guess we really are already. ) Our physical limitations would of necessity shut out a great deal of sound. It is , therefore, to our human benefit that we cannot hear all the conversations that are trilling even in this one moment. And probably a good lesson in understanding that we can't always hear what is right "in front of our eyes" ( so to speak ).

A friend , and the previous shop owner, offered to do a short presentation at the shop about lavender ( pictures above-her display in the shop ), it's uses, history, myth, lore and lure. She sells her wondeful products in the shop ( ooo so soothing ). What a wonderful idea , thought I. Together we planned and plotted and advertised. She made yummy lemon-lavender cookies. I made lemonade and picked great and small bunches of flowers, creamy white and green, for bouquets to highlight the lavender display.

Anticipation rose, excitement heightened, but , alas, the day was not kind to us.It was one of the hottest and sunniest days we had all summer ( a summer of considerable rain and quite cool !! ). Patrons must have been out swimming and boating and cooling their tootsies in wet beach sand, as our soothing , cooling lavender event did not attract but a few. Blessedly, there were enthusiasts, which made it rewarding. We had a number of people throughout the day, a few taking advantage of the lavender sale. But I couldn't help notice how little notice most visitors paid to the bouquets and even the cookies ( though I must say that when invited to try them their attention focused sharply then ).

It's a sad commentary to express my opinion that many people today are so little concerned with the details of a place or event, or sometimes each other. Sooooo much delight,and sometimes even insight, can be experienced by the subtle nuances of a situation. And yet it passes by the board for so many.

After a few moments of discussion with my friend and a little reflection, it consoled me some to realize, that like the singing yeast cells, sometimes we just can not hear what is right in front of us.

A Peek around the Shop

A little bit of this and a little bit of that.

A little bit of FUN.

A little old and a little new.

Whimsy and more.

Be back another time to share a wee bit more. Cyth

Success

Well it seems to me today that it would be a wise move on my part to redefine success for myself. I guess that I have decided to take "success" out of the big leagues and look for smaller and more attainable successes. This , for instance, I shall consider a success.

Number one , I actually achieved success in linking to the Internet from The Shop. I can't even begin to tell you how frustrated I have been trying to get this, my new laptop,to access the Internet from here in the shop. Never mind me. Let me tell ya, the Mr. has been in a handful of times and the curse words from him , who never curses, were numerous and vehement. We even managed to lock up the computer in an effort to set it loose in cyber space. Then a friend a renter of my little shop space, came by in an effort to try her laptop in this endeavor. Somehow we managed to disable her homepage. She too , left muttering , shall I say, impolite words. But before we screwed up the homepage she tripped on a small revelation and suggested that I try. Lo and behold, today I find myself linked to the great beyond. ( No , not a glimpse of Heaven- just a corner of the Internet. ) Success Number One !

Number Two, I could actually upload ( download ?)--- somehow get my photo to manifest on the blog. Couldn't do it from home as you know if you read my lament in the last post. So , now I'm thinking that MAYBE I can figure out why I can't do it from the home computer. Ain't I a genius ? (Before answering that , let me remind you that I only had a glimmer of an idea about what to do. It hasn't been tested out yet. But if you still want to consider me a genius , I will accept that graciously. ) So pictures I can now give you. Yay. Success Number Two.

I realize that these are regarded by most as just minor obstacles , perhaps even laughable. To a technologically challenged individual, myself for instance, these are MOUNTAINS. And I managed to scale these mountains with a little help from my friends, and that my friends, is worthy of a pat on the back. And I'm thinking that my arms are long enough to give myself that pat.

We live in a harsh world, many opportunities to be shown our failures. We (or perhaps I should speak only for myself --- I ) I find it only too simple to find my failings and then beat myself up about it. I expect a heck of a lot more from myself than I would another , and true to the expectation , I usually find myself lacking. I think that I will redouble my efforts to see the success I achieve and perhaps even celebrate them , just a wee bit.

Today, I'm feeling bouyed. Two successes in succession. A pat on the back for me and a photo for you. ( Hope to get more on tomorrow )

A big hooray for all of you that achieved even one small success today, Cyth

Another Frustration

Perhaps I can get a little advice. I just posted an incomplete post because I could not get my images to come up. I've been trying sporadically for the past 4 weeks and have failed to get the images added to the text. I guess it is fair to say that I'm a little frustrated !

Betwixt & Between

I know , I know. It's been a long while. Guilty as charged. Just can't quite pul myself together to blog. Have run up against a psychological wall. Though I would like to be chatting about something....well, anything , I just can't manage at the moment. Have lost the little momentum that I had. I will try to pull out of this. In the meantime some pictures from the shop. I know Iknow. I was going to blog about the shop too and I haven't. I hope for now that these photos will do.