a different path

***

so we left the house

all excited about going berry picking this weekend..

ready to take a million photos

and pick a billion berries

with visions of making tarts and pies

and filling our mouths with piles of them

fresh from the bushes

...strawberries, huckleberries, blackberries and raspberries..

just like i did when i was a kid

(i still remember the very first blackberry i ate right from the vine)

***

only to find that the farm

was already sold out of all of its berries

for the season

(what? how can this be..so early in the season?

well..then again, we're talking about organic berries..

which are sadly, very hard to come by around here)

***

darn. i was so super disappointed

..mad at myself really..

for having put off our little berry adventure again and again

(we'd been talking about picking them ourselves for months and months..)

***

then i remembered something i had read that morning..

a little thought of the day

(yogi teas come with small phrases, words of wisdom

printed on their tea tags..)

which most of the time

really do make me atleast think for a moment

during the day

this one said

'empty yourself and let the universe fill you'

(something more poetic, but along those lines)

and suddenly

i realized just exactly what this meant

and just exactly how it could help the situation

(yogi tea..you are my personal guru..yes you are!)

***

so i threw away my expectations

(mainly my disappointment)

and

we just set out exploring the countryside

with no plans at all

to see what we could find

***

..we discovered all sorts of great things..

a sweet little nature preserve

sortof hidden and tucked away

with a beautiful pond

***

and

all sorts of overgrown paths

(not scary overgrown..)

just sweet and smelling of chamomile

and begging to be explored

***

and

we played like kids

***

and snapped a million photos

***

and found strange little spaces

that sparked a billion creative ideas

***

and

realized we had found a really great spot

to come back to again and again

for more exploring

and for portraits

(i'm dreaming of doing some self-portraits and also using models..)

so

no berries this weekend

(but believe me..i'm thinking of driving out to the catskills..i hear there are still plenty there)

and funny enough

i can whole-heartedly say that it was one of the best i've had

in a very very long time.

hope you had a great weekend too..

happy monday to you!

xo

the sweetness of goodbyes and hellos

***

hello dear friends!

oh, i can't believe that it's been almost a month since my last post.

believe me,

i have thought about you guys a lot

and thought about writing..

(oh so many things to write about..too many maybe..)

if you could see behind the curtain..you'd find 6 or 7 started,

but unfinished little postings.

***

the past few weeks have been full

with lots of thinking and feeling

and not a lot of saying.

it was a windy month full of sadness and change.

where i just let my thoughts float and fly away on the breeze..

lots of reflection

and letting go.

***

i said goodbye to my dear old sweet kitty, flipina.

my little girl who had been my pillow and song-partner for 15 years.

(she would always come and sing next to me whenever i'd sing or cry..

she especially loved 'black bird' by the beatles..you know the one)

i said goodbye to my dear aunt as well.

my aunt who lived in guadalajara

and taught us how to make fresh tamales each christmas dinner.

who loved color so much and is probably the reason i ever started making jewelry.

there was a lot of sadness

and so much beauty in it all too.

***

there was lots and lots of reminiscing

and reliving so many memories and so much love.

there's a quiet beauty in tucking those sweet memories in safely into our hearts

feeling thankful for them

and knowing they'll always be there.

***

looking at the explosion of spring flowers everywhere

(is it just me, or are there more blooms this year??)

has me thinking about the nature of change.

seeing buds popping

flowers blooming in all of their glory

and then fading and dropping off so that the trees can grow.

it's an amazingly gorgeous process

when you think about it.

life is change, i suppose.

and i think i'm okay with that.

wishing you a lovely wednesday.

see you friday.

xox