SPRING IS IN THE AIR!!!

 I've been at some homes recently with some of the most beautiful flowers planted in their gardens.  Here are some of the pics.  I hope you enjoy this "walk" through these gardens!!!

SAND SCULPTING, SIESTA KEY, FLORIDA!!!

Here we are, the bathing beauties!!! Kirsten in the middle with, of course, me on her right and Alpha on her left.  We arrived at Siesta Key sometime around 10 am.  The sand on this beach is like walking on powdered sugar, it's so very fine, it doesn't even feel like sand. 

The contest began at 9am and the judging takes place at 1pm with the winners to be announced at 2pm.  Some of the sculptors had been doing this type of contest for over 25 years.

One man I spoke to said the sand was so perfect to work with.  He said you didn't have to add water, just pile it up, pat it together and start sculpting.  The picture to the left is of Chip Perling creating Pirate Pelican.  He took 1st place in the category "Adult/Humorous" with "Pirecan".  You can see the beginning, but, sadly, not the finished product.

This is Ken Shields and Mollie Morgan creating "Castle By the Sea" which took 1st place in the "Adult/Miscellanious" category. 

We had such a great time walking around, talking to the sculptors, the kids, the guys who had been around for many years competing in this.  Fascinating!  I spoke with two brothers, Chris and Bud Richardson who were sculpting a castle in honor of their parents' 100th birthday.  Chris has been competing for over 25 years and here you can see the beginning of their efforts.  I'm sure they placed, but I could not find the list of all the winners.

Gives me something to think about, becoming a sand sculptor!!! Hmmmmmmm!!!

WHERE IS HOME?

My friend, Cathy, wrote a beautiful piece about being back at Heartwood and the "physical home space" that nurtures the spirit and the soul.  Then there is the essence of the "spiritual home" where the true journey is when we remember our true home resides in the "Light of Love".

I've been thinking about this today as I drove from Flagler Beach to Sarasota, Florida, following my dear friend, Alpha.  I've just spent the past four days being in the Light of Love in the presence of this dear woman.  She allows me to be me, to be present when I can, and to attend my own needs, and at the same time, she loves me in a quiet, simple way.  We wake in our own time, we flow into our day at our own speed and move into the fullness of the day easily and without stress. 

As I'm writing this, I am aware of how many people in my life are also this way.  My friends, Cathy and Ted, who created the beautiful circle garden above where we firewalk, are just as easy to be with.  In fact, Lynn and Judy, in Maine, surround me with love every time I visit.  Although, Lynn, I must say this past September nearly put me under the table.  I had such a great time, sitting out in the yard, having our first vodka martini with the great "pupu" platter Judy made for us.  I had so much to drink that afternoon and evening, I don't remember sitting down to dinner and eating.  What a marvelous time I had with you two!!!

I guess what I'm trying to say is my "home" lives in many different places.  While I love being in my camper, I also love being able to travel to the homes of my friends and my loving family.  My heart is fed by so many different people in so many varied ways.  The old adage "home is where the heart is" holds true for me.  This weekend my heart is in Sarasota with Kirsten, Scott and Alpha.  By Sunday, my heart will once again  be in my "rolling palace"!  Life is GREAT!!!

To all of you who have opened your homes and hearts to me, I say, THANK YOU!!!  I am deeply grateful for your love and your generosity of Spirit!!!!

A WRINKLE IN TIME!!!

Remember when I said we were going to Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp yesterday?  Well, that didn't happen.  Yes, we did start out for the camp about 1pm, following the directions on the brochure which said to go north on the Interstate.  We did that and soon saw an exit 305, which we passed up.  Then we noticed exit 311, and I said "I think we're going the wrong way."  The exit we were looking for was exit 249.  So we turned around. 

As we headed back, Alpha looked at her watch and it said "10:00 am", which was certainly not the time.  She said "You know my clock on my computer this morning said 3:00, I wonder what this is all about?"  As we were driving south she decided she needed to stop and check on her home because they had recently experienced some electrical problems in a couple of the condos and she wasn't too sure the problem had been totally solved.  So back to the house we headed.

Moments later, back into the car we got.  We decided that perhaps we weren't supposed to go to Cassadaga and instead we headed to one of our favorite eating places, The Present Moment.  This is a restaurant that specializes in "live" food and totally organic meals.  There is nothing that is really heated  to the point of destroying the nutrients in the food.  I had a wonderful black bean soup with a dish they call "peace hummus".  There is no meat served, but whenever they make a dish like a hamburger it's made with nuts, mushrooms, vegetables, etc.  The food is like no other place I've eaten and every dish I've had there is delicious.  The picture to the left was taken in the restaurant of Alpha as she backed up to the window.  You can see the beautiful piece of stained glass that comes halfway down the window. 

We also stopped at one of the local fruit markets that advertised "Pecans, 1 lb. for $3.99, shelled".  We both were excited about getting shelled pecans for such a low price.  Well, you guessed it!  It was a come-on, the 1 lb. bag of shelled pecans was a bag of ground pecans to use for coating meats and fish.  I did, however, get a bag of fresh oranges, so not all was lost.

By the time we got back home, it was almost 6pm.  We had been up and down the expressway several times and laughed about falling into a time warp.  Where the day went, we had no idea.  Once we got back though we went out for a walk and headed for the Intracoastal Waterway, just a couple of blocks from Alpha's house.  You'd really have to see for yourself how beautiful an area she lives in.  Palm trees, beautiful flowing plants and bushes, lush green yards, and million dollar homes surround the Intracoastal Waterway.  I feel like I've died and gone to heaven.  The only thing missing for my piece of heaven is a game table with people waiting for me to sit down and play with them.  I hope God is listening, because I fully expect to be able to play to my hearts' content when I pass beyond this world. 

In the meantime, don't forget to play whenever you can!!!

I'M FINALLY HERE!!

 Bright and early Tuesday morning, I left New Orleans headed for Florida.  As I was crossing Lake Ponchartrain, about 6:45am, I noticed how beautiful the sky looked and took this picture.  I had a glorious day of blue skies, white clouds, and easy traffic as I made my way across the state of Louisiana, Alabama and then Florida. 

Nearly 11 hours later, I arrived at my friend, Alpha's, home.  Was I ever glad to finally be somewhere!  The last two hours of the drive were the longest of the whole trip. 

After unloading all my "stuff", we settled into our seats on the lanai, sipping a wonderful Pinot Grigio and catching up on our lives from when I was last here, which was March of last year.  Being with Alpha is like being with family.  You know you may not agree on everything, but just like family, you know they will love you anyway.  No matter how long it is between visits, there is never a time of getting to know each other again, you just fall into the friendship again, as if no time has elapsed.

As we sat on the porch, she told me the watering system had been pushed back to about 7:30 pm so we might not get any rainbows.  But just as the water began to flow, we both looked out to see this beautiful rainbow taking shapen to our left.  I grabbed my camera and took several pictures of it.  It was like a "welcome home" celebration.

Today, we are headed to a "spiritualist camp" called Cassadaga.  Alpha is taking me to the hotel which has an amazing restaurant she says.  Cassadaga celebrated it's 117th birthday last year, having been formed