Fall Weather
Even Southern California has seasons. It is definitely Fall: cooler in the mornings and often cloudy and damp, windy in the evening and actually chilly at night. But then the sun warms up the afternoons, and you have to take your sweater off. I love this change of seasons, and find myself longing for real Fall and some real weather. It has been especially windy in the last day, stirring up the ashes from this summer's fire. There is grit everywhere in the house and the yard, and M's white standard poodle has dark spots where he has been lying down. The sky was dust-colored this evening, and the air was so thick that you couldn't even see the mountains that are on the other side of the freeway. We need a deep drenching rain to settle the ash and wash it deep into the soil.
Life continues either so busy there is not enough time to reflect and write, or so uneventful there isn't anyting to say. I continue to feed my knitting addiction. I have so many scarves of such divergent designs that I have begun to look for venues to sell them. It is a backwards business plan - create inventory and then look for a way to sell it. Who knows if anyone will want to pay what I think they are worth. A friend who sells collectibles and crafts at local shows has invited me to join her in some of the shows at which she will be selling between now and Christmas. It's kind of fun.
My print class has started up again. I have an idea for a book of meditations and prints. It will be good to have the discipline of attending class to help me keep at work on it, and very helpful to have an acomplished art teacher to guide me through the project.
Meantime, I am working with a friend who is building a business selling insurance. Her paperwork is overwhelming her, so I am organizing her office. She pays me! It is a wonderful relationship. It feels like real work.
I have begun visiting Saint Andrew's Abbey, my favorite monastery for spiritual direction every month. i drive two and a half hours to arrive at the monastery for lunch on a Thursday, meet with my director, spend the afternoon walking, napping, reading, reflecting. The monks observe Vespers before dinner and Compline before the Grand Silence of the night. The night sky in the high desert is crowded with stars and the only sounds are the wind in the brush and the sounds of the coyotes calling and arguing as they are on the move. I stay for Lauds and breakfast before heading to LA on Friday for visits with friends or kids and then head back to Santa Barbara. I love this pause in my scattered monthly schedule. It has been such beautiful time, floating into the prayer life of the monks, resting in the special sense of God's presence, collecting soul and body in quiet before stepping back into the world.
Life continues either so busy there is not enough time to reflect and write, or so uneventful there isn't anyting to say. I continue to feed my knitting addiction. I have so many scarves of such divergent designs that I have begun to look for venues to sell them. It is a backwards business plan - create inventory and then look for a way to sell it. Who knows if anyone will want to pay what I think they are worth. A friend who sells collectibles and crafts at local shows has invited me to join her in some of the shows at which she will be selling between now and Christmas. It's kind of fun.
My print class has started up again. I have an idea for a book of meditations and prints. It will be good to have the discipline of attending class to help me keep at work on it, and very helpful to have an acomplished art teacher to guide me through the project.
Meantime, I am working with a friend who is building a business selling insurance. Her paperwork is overwhelming her, so I am organizing her office. She pays me! It is a wonderful relationship. It feels like real work.
I have begun visiting Saint Andrew's Abbey, my favorite monastery for spiritual direction every month. i drive two and a half hours to arrive at the monastery for lunch on a Thursday, meet with my director, spend the afternoon walking, napping, reading, reflecting. The monks observe Vespers before dinner and Compline before the Grand Silence of the night. The night sky in the high desert is crowded with stars and the only sounds are the wind in the brush and the sounds of the coyotes calling and arguing as they are on the move. I stay for Lauds and breakfast before heading to LA on Friday for visits with friends or kids and then head back to Santa Barbara. I love this pause in my scattered monthly schedule. It has been such beautiful time, floating into the prayer life of the monks, resting in the special sense of God's presence, collecting soul and body in quiet before stepping back into the world.