big sigh... at least since canada, i've been longing for winter. a time to rest, rejuvenate, drop in...when i look back through my everything book that spans my time from new hampshire hitching up to montreal and across to british columbia, then back to new hampshire and then to hawaii, i see the lists and bits of hopes and plans and dreams, of what colors i wanted in my rainbow, from which sources i sought my inspiration for my coming sojourn into winter....

i wanted to sew. i wanted to make clothes. many. but, i don't want to buy new fabrics, as it seems so wasteful that it takes a lot of the fun out of it for me. and then guess what? here i am in hawi, i am given a circa wwII sewing machine that cha-chunks along pretty well, and a thrift shop that exists only in my dreams.

the st. augustine thrift shop opens wednesdays from 12-3pm. only. and every week, they have new and amazing finds from all of the transient mainlanders coming and going and not taking it with them. the most expensive thing i ever bought in this shop was a horribly decadent mumu for my sister (don't laugh~she'll actually wear it)(okay you can laugh but she's still gonna wear it). anyway, that designer mumu was $1.75. i have bought blankets, pillows, mumus, dresses for giant women (aka big bolts of fabric), funky shirts, flowing pants, and countless other finds for as much as 25 cents. my best finds are in the 10 cent pile. great stuff, probably there because although nice fabric, a bit too much of it. i consider it a community service to buy these things and cut them up, giving the world smaller doses of some really funny prints.

;)

so, that is perhaps not so interesting to most people, but the little thrift shop and all of the great things i found there, plus the fantastic clothes i made from them, will remain a fond memory of this little place at the end of the road in hawaii...in this long winter's nap, the weekly outing to the thrift shop was often the only time i left home. :) he he!

jewelry...i've had all of these strings and beads and whatnot that i've picked up along the way, and as the stockpile started to wind down, i found myself considering where to go with it, because again, i don't like buying new things that require new production in big factories and all the sufferings that go with that, especially to buy them only to put them together and sell them again! so, there i was, thinking that when the strings finished, that was the end of my macrame. and literally the final day, sitting at market making a necklace of the final bit of strings, no less than four people (that's a lot at the hawi market) commented on how much they love my work, how pretty are the knotting styles i use, etc. um...sign? i try to listen when these things come up.

and so, i sat with it a while, and found my peace..i went to hawi headquarters, the new head shop, and bought the thin hemp strings. my concession. it's newly produced, but it's not dumping chemicals into water supplies. and for beads and bits and pendants, i'm not buying new. i'm using what comes, from ground scores, from reusing, from gifting. it gives deeper meaning to my work...a week later, chris at hawi headquarters bought nine pieces from me to display (sell) in his shop. the end of my work with synthetic strings..

new beginnings...

ah! manna bread...i started sprouting and making bread this winter, cooking it in the oven in the house. and as thoughts began to turn to building a solar oven, jesus at cinderland showed me his solar oven..such a simple design! ha! even with my rudimentary woodworking skills-from all those forays in the woodshop in high school-were enough to construct this number. and so, days later, reusing materials found (the beveled glass top a fantastic 25 cent find at my trusty thrift shop), i constructed my solar oven.

and so, attending my sprouts is part of my daily routine, and every few days i concoct a new manna bread. the favorite so far is what my students call, "manna bread pizza," seasoned with oregano and thyme, blended with loads of raw garlic and nourished with ground flax and sesame seeds, and topped with slices of tomatoes...yes..sun-dried tomato manna bread pizza...divine.

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my daily practice begins with the sun's early rays flickering in through my home...i lay in bed and give myself reiki, then rise and move to my little sanctuary...a little patch of grass overlooking the miniature ponds of papayrus and frogs with the little temple behind me. i'm practicing a few different meditations, my reiki meditations and love energy for others, and then my asana practice...ever-grateful this is how i begin each day.

as winter became spring, i embarked on a cleansing journey...in it, i recognized old hurts and habits holding me back, and experienced healing work of sound, light, realignment, and touch reaching into those places of pain and blockage. letting go letting go...

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and now, spring moves into summer, and i move on to the next chapter of my story. in a week, i leave for london, to reunite with many friends i haven't seen in years. friends i've known and loved since korea, since india, since panama, since thailand...the land of my ancestors is welcoming me with such wide open arms i can barely contain my excitement. open arms and open doors await-homes, markets, friends, festivals, creation...

it's usually a simple transition for me when i change geographic realities, preparations and particulars, tying up loose ends and looking forward to new adventures...but with the knowing of the loves i'll hold again, this one has had me ecstatic for weeks! and as i've shared my plans with other butterflies, we find our paths uniting, plans joining...

...and there's always room for more, so if you're in the neighborhood and fancy a reunion... ;)

in the u.k. through july, then journeying south easterly for european rainbow in serbia, again reuniting with some wonderufl people in my life, and on to winter in spain... and finally the call for africa comes, and the signs are coming stronger...things happening, people coming, paths crossing....so maybe in a year, i'll find myself in africa.

but that's a long time away.

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i feel good. rested. able to breathe deeply (except for the vog). ready. yesterday i bade farewell to my writing class students; in the coming days i'll give some last bits of love to the land here, work on some jewelry, join the full moon women's gathering, and perhaps celebrate the solstice alone in pololu valley... and then, fly, fly away...

~~~ bling! ~~~