Flo

Between last night’s dinner and breakfast this morning, the first batch of summer potato salad has disappeared from my refrigerator.  And, alas, I am the culprit.

I LOVE potato salad.  Let me restate that: I love MY potato salad.  Far be it from me, one of the world’s pickiest eaters, to eat just any potato salad.  I’ve spent years perfecting our family recipe to the point it now requires no measuring or guessing.  Dollops of mayonnaise, mustard and pickle relish are dropped in the huge mixing bowl.  An undefined number of eggs and cut-up potatoes are boiled in the copper-bottomed Revere Ware 4 1/2 qt. stock pot.  Bacon is cooked in the microwave.  After testing the potatoes for “done-ness”, I drain off the water and fill the pan with cold water (to speed up the process.)  By now I am impatient and my mouth is watering.  I crumble the bacon on top of the mayo/mustard/relish pile and slice scallion stems.  The potatoes drain in the strainer and the eggs cool in the water. 

I look at the mixture in the bowl.  I move back and forth in front of the sink, as if this little dance will make the potatoes drain faster and the eggs cool from the breeze I create.  I crack the shells off the eggs, and dice them, still warm, onto the mixture in the bowl.  Gauging the potatoes as still pretty wet, I no longer care and they are dumped into the bowl and quickly stirred in. 

I eat the first bite using the mixing spoon. It is followed by a delicious sigh.  This makes me happy.

Wally wants extra attention this morning.  He sits next to me as I drink tea, peering up at me as if I can sit here and not notice his woebegone brown eyes.  Something large just hit the branch of the Maple tree and I’m quite sure no pterodactyl have flown by in the last few minutes.  I hear the bird calls, the trucks on the highway and notice a very non-pterodactyl-like squirrel in the Maple, now the Ash tree.

Last night I watched the Pursuit of Happyness.  It seemed insightful of Chris Gardner to notice how the Declaration of Independence included the pursuit of happiness, not just happiness alone.  He noticed that happiness was included other places in the Declaration, that it was something he was pursuing, and at the end of the movie declared his moment of happiness.  It took alot of work to reach that one moment.  Although he had timesof despair, he was focused and his intentions remained on completing the internship and being THE employee who gets the job.  I admire that and wonder what I’ve done in my life with the same level of intensity.

Saturday, I went with a friend to the Boulder Book Store.  The first book I saw when I walked in was SARK’s new book “FABULOUS FRIENDSHIP FESTIVAL – loving wildly, learning deeply, living fully with our friends”.  You were probably thinking I was done with SARK.  I know I was, however, the cover was so tantilizing, so bright I couldn’t resist buying it and now, sharing it.

As with all of SARK’s books, the writing is creative, colorful and uplifting.  A new addition to this book is actual photographs of SARK and her friends.  The book has three sections:  Celebrations, Challenges, Integration, and 12 chapters, from Self-Friendship to Managing Time and Energy in Friendships (and everything in between!)

Perusing this book will take quite some time and I’ll share insights and thoughts as I go. 

“Friendship with oneself is all-important, because without it, one cannot be freinds with anyone else in the world” –Eleanor Roosevelt

“Just write”.  Sounds like instructions I’ve received from Natalie Goldberg at workshops I’ve attended in Taos, New Mexico.

There are times I sit down to write and my mind goes in 90 directions.  It’s actually like what my mind does when I sit down to meditate.

First, I take a deep breath.  I notice my breathing.  I notice the sound and feeling of the air from the ceiling fan.  I notice my breathing.  I notice the sound of the attic fan.  I notice my breathing.  Then, I notice thoughts.  I think about emails to write, emails written, thoughts of clients and my husband, conversations held over the last few days.  I notice thoughts of paperwork that needs faxed, reports that need written and some things that need filed.  At some point and before my meditation time is up, I eventually notice my breathing again.

When writing, particularly blogging, it’s a little more effective to others not to wander in my thoughts.  Today I meditated before I wrote.  That seems to help me stay a little more focused.

Namaste’

My list of “shoulds” got longer today.  I’ll bet most of us have one, whether we choose to acknowledge it or not.  While being sick today, the “should” list got suspended – added to, yet suspended.  Shoved over to the side “Until Further Notice”.

I cough – sneeze – blow my nose – sneeze some more and over eat. I lose sight of what’s valuable besides a softer tissue.  That, and protecting my nose from chapping.  It gets to the point I’m no longer aware or caring of how my coughing and sneezing bothers my spouse.  I am beyond that.  So, I’m aware the “should” list exists – it’s just not a priority. Not as much as a soft, cushy, under the covers place for me to fall into to sleep.

I talked with an artist named Leo this week, who paints and sells her pictures at Pike Place Public Market, in Seattle.  Her art work is reminiscent of Van Gogh and she sells other art she has created as well.  I discovered two 8 x 10 prints which state “I love you” in red ink with red hearts decorating the pieces.  All each page, she has written personal statements to the person she created this gift for.  Here are examples of the statements:

“You are loving”

“I love you because you love a slow boat to china”

“You sing”

“I love you because you pretend you are a kitty-cat”

“Because you give and give”

“Because you say the moon is made of cheese.”

“I love you because you dig in the dirt”

“I love you because you secretly know how to fly”

“I love you because you fuss over your hair as if it were the crown for the Queen of England” (this is my favorite)

 These are amazing and personal gifts Leo made for others and is sharing.  I bought both prints.  They make me think about the things I love about others in my life, things that probably should be said, yet never are. 

Think of all the people you know who would appreciate being told they are loved by you and why.  Tell them!

I have traveled to Seattle, vacationing while my husband works.   As I read the morning newpaper, it’s challenging to feel optimism and hope.  The headlines are full of things like:

“Suicide bomber hits tribal chiefs…”

“Jetlines create carbon crunch”

“Natural gas prices at highest since Dec.”

I can read letters to the editor about a man with TB and everyone is so focused on the process that let him travel, yet who is being compassionate about the fact that he has a serious disease that can have significant health complications for him?

As I keep reading, I read of Paul McCartney’s new album, (I love that new CDs are still called “albums”) being distributed by Starbucks.  There is a brilliant picture of a small, shiny aubergine frog with purple markings called a “psychedelic frog” and considered to be a new species.

It took reading three sections of rather unpleasant or highly unpleasant news before landing on Paul McCartney and the cool picture of the frog.  It would be nice to find a newspaper that would have this news on the front page and leave the stories about Libby and California’s sprawl in the back.

Lately, I’ve noticed people saying to me “go ahead, you seem to be in a hurry” or yesterday, a classic “you’re driving me crazy”.  The thing is, these things are said to me by total strangers. 

Yesterday, I laughed with the woman at the grocery store.  In the beverage aisle, I could not locate the type of pop I was sent to the store for.  I kept walking back and forth down the aisle, over and over, behind this woman’s grocery cart.  She laughed and I laughed when she commented and I made a half-hearted apology as I left the aisle.

There is no doubt that I am purposeful as I do most things.  However, I find that being labeled “in a hurry” has a negative connotation to me.  I am focused, and if I really think about it, I appear to rush from thing-to-thing.  I think I may be missing out on opportunities for laughter-giggles-smiles by my focused approach.

That’s what I want more of – more laughing – endless giggles – smiles all day long.  It sounds like it’s time to remember my “there is enough time in the day to get everything done” mantra and breathe more slowly.