Jana Remy
  • Writing
    • Disability
    • Making History
    • Digital Humanities
      • dayofDH
    • Canoeing
    • Creative Nonfiction & Essays
    • Feminism
    • Bibliographies
      • Pacific Worlds Bibliography
    • Social Media
      • Mentions/Links
  • Scholarship
    • Awards/Fellowships
    • Conferences & Invited Talks
    • Collaboration
    • Workshops
    • Conference Planning
    • Technical Skills
  • Teaching
    • Blogposts About Teaching

Jana Remy

  • Writing
    • Disability
    • Making History
    • Digital Humanities
      • dayofDH
    • Canoeing
    • Creative Nonfiction & Essays
    • Feminism
    • Bibliographies
      • Pacific Worlds Bibliography
    • Social Media
      • Mentions/Links
  • Scholarship
    • Awards/Fellowships
    • Conferences & Invited Talks
    • Collaboration
    • Workshops
    • Conference Planning
    • Technical Skills
  • Teaching
    • Blogposts About Teaching
Monthly Archives

November 2008

when you are inspired…
gardenphoto

when you are inspired…


star daisy, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

“When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bonds: Your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great, and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive, and your discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.”
~Patanjali

What is the great purpose and extraordinary project that is inspiring you today? Me, I am inspired by the beauties (like the one above) in my garden.

More pictures from my garden.

November 30, 2008
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kid magic
friendsphoto

kid magic


Hansel and Gretel invite a flash mob to the witch’s house., originally uploaded by mind on fire.

S brought a gingerbread house to our party and let all of the kids line up and dig in–eating the house piece by piece (the pic above shows the kids queued up here to take turns). By the end of the party, it looked like this.

[Note: pics by John]

November 29, 2008
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Happy A-C Day!
Random

Happy A-C Day!


roses, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

Around here, we celebrate Anti-Consumer Day each year on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Here’s hoping that your day is filled with joy, friends, family, and all the stuff that money can’t buy! :)

November 28, 2008
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ssc

short shameful confession #7

I love Amy Grant’s Home for Christmasalbum and can (and do) sing every single song with gusto.

**Previous short shameful confessions

November 27, 2008
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this morning we realized that he’s almost as tall as me
familyphoto

this morning we realized that he’s almost as tall as me


the tux thing, he’s dealing with it, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

I couldn’t be more proud! :)

Although GameBoy says he has no clue how he’ll play his cello well while wearing such a heavy suit (typically he wears a t-shirt and shorts), I expect he’ll do just fine in his big concert debut!

November 26, 2008
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what love?
photosimplicity

what love?


cluster of heliotrope, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

Where there is greed,
What love can there be?
~Sikh wisdom

November 24, 2008
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go confidently
deep thoughtssimplicity

go confidently


pale pink rose, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you’ve imagined. As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler.

~Henry David Thoreau

Life can be so complex, so maniacally wearying. Every once in awhile it’s such a joy to step back from the maddening crowd for awhile and pursue one’s dreams and imaginings.

As I type this my heart is full of gratitude. For friends, for family, for this beautiful quiet late-night moment that I’m curled up on my couch with a silky kitty at my side, contemplating Thoreau. Remembering the first time I read his words, more than 20 years ago, and knew that they were true.

November 23, 2008
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friends

tweet tweet

I just signed up for a twitter account (you can see my tweets in the sidebar of this blog or on facebook). I’m still not so sure about this, given that I don’t want to be too tied to technology. So it’s an experiment…

Do you twitter? If so, how does it impact your life?

November 21, 2008
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some simple pleasures
make me smilesimplicity

some simple pleasures

basil

**chatting with a friend on her front porch

**getting an unexpected check in the mail–an award for a book review written several months ago

**meeting all of my dissertation goals for today

**turning the compost in the backporch bin (I try to remember to do this daily–the wormies do their best work when they get plenty of fresh air)

**GameBoy and Catgirl sitting at the kitchen table dutifully doing their homework. Until they break out into a boisterous debate about the merits of the overland Silk Road vs. the seatrade from Mecca to China

**the smell of fresh basil from my garden

November 18, 2008
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deep thoughtssongs/poetry

have you ever….

While working this morning, this song came up on Pandora and I just loved it. I thought you might want to take a listen, too. I love how Carlile captures the magic & wonder of strolling through nature–perfectly appropriate for my pilgrim soul.


Have you Ever?

Have you ever wandered lonely through the woods?
And everything there feels just as it should
You’re part of the life there
You’re part of something good
If you’ve ever wandered lonely through the woods
if you’ve ever wandered lonlely through the woods

Have you ever stared into a starry sky?
Lying on your back you’re asking why
What’s the purpose I wonder who am I
If you’ve ever stared into a starry sky
Have you ever stared into a starry sky

Have you ever been out walking in the snow?
Tried to get back to where you were before
You always end up not knowing where to go
If you’ve ever been out walking in the snow
If you’d ever been out walking you would know.

November 17, 2008
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simplicity

Simplify

My thoughts right now are focused on the art of simplicity. As I head into a rather busy time of year, I’m craving a simple approach to tasks, relationships, gifting, working, healthfulness, and so forth. I will be running several posts on this topic and I hope that you’ll each chime in with your thoughts and ideas, too. Some preliminary thoughts below…

Simple Food:
-Our annual holiday party will be potluck this year. To reduce the stress on me (and John) to cook a large meal by ourselves. I want to have the time to enjoy my friends instead of fussing in the kitchen.

-Muffins. Having them on hand makes great snacks, tea treats, breakfasts, and desserts. CatGirl has a favorite healthy recipe that she can make herself. But if you have a recipe to share, I’d love to feature it on the blog!

-CSA Veggie Box. Thanks to the efforts of a friend we get a weekly veggie box delivery each Wednesday (fresh-picked from a farm that’s just around the corner). Dinner on Wed, Thurs, and even through the weekend is determined by whatever foods are included in our delivery. I’ve found that soups, strata or quiche, and veggie pizza are wonderful ways to use this produce.

Simple Health:

-Exercise. I’ve been working out every morning for the past several weeks, with simple cardio or dumbbell exercises and yoga. My body is feeling better everyday even though some mornings it’s very difficult to get up extra early for a workout.

-Taking Vitamins.’Nuff said there :)

Simple Holidays:
-Immediate Family. Rather than gift-giving, we are making memories by traveling together this year over the holiday season. We’ll be going to Washington D.C. and New York City. We can’t wait to share those places with our children!

-Extended Family. I will attempt home-made gifts again this year as I did last year. But this is all contingent on my wrists’ continued healing. If I can’t make gifts then I will purchase them from etsy crafters rather than buying from a large retailer.

Simple Faith:
-Quakers. My commitment to Friends continues as I have taken on some responsibilities in our Meeting. Yet I still aim to balance my activities with the needs of my family and my need to meditate alone and/or to spend time in my garden (my most sacred space).

-Ministry. I recently read a Quaker tract about Worship-sharing (being led to speak in Meeting). It suggested that some Friends feel the call to vocal ministry while others find that outlet through writing. I rarely speak in Meeting because I crave silence. But I feel that my blogging is my forum of ministry–it’s where I can best share thoughts and insights. However I am continuing to seek a balance between my ‘virtual’ communities and my ‘real-life’ ones. Recently I’ve decided to spend more time off-line and I’ve dropped many blogs from my GoogleReader.

Simple Consumption:
-FreecycleIrvine. I continue to moderate our local Freecycle group because this feels like a good way to facilitate the sharing of goods and to reduce landfill waste.

-Reuse. I am not as good as I could be at reusing household items. Because we live in such a small space, I feel I can’t stockpile items for later re-use. I am trying to do better at this, as I can. For example, I just learned that the farmer that we buy eggs from will let us bring back our carton and he will re-fill it rather than giving us a new one each week.

-Purchases. There are several companies that I like to patronize because I appreciate the quality of their goods. Lately I’ve found nearly-daily notices from these companies about sales, reduced shipping prices, etc. I’ve decided to create a filter for all of these emails so I will no longer see them in my inbox and be tempted to order items that I don’t yet need.

November 16, 2008
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fountain of youth
Random

fountain of youth


aging fountain, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

“There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.”
~Sophia Loren

November 15, 2008
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About Me

About Me

Hi there friend, and welcome to my blog. I started writing on the internet two decades ago. Since then I've started and finished a PhD program, left the Mormon church and became a Quaker, got divorced, remarried, found full-time work in academia, took up rock climbing and outrigger canoeing, and traveled across the globe (China! Belgium! Italy! Chicago! Montana! Portland! Gettysburg! and oh-so-many points in-between). This blog is eclectic and random--it has poetry and cooking and books. And cats. And flowers. And the ocean (my ocean). But in that sense it's a good reflection of me and my wide-ranging, far-reaching, magpie curiosity.

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