Author: Jana

  • my love


    chameleon, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

    A photo of John in a tree. He was sitting up there checking his email on his Treo. Just for me he stood up and posed a bit :)

    Looking forward to meeting up with John again tonite when he joins me in SLC. Yay!

  • feeling rosy


    IMG_3671, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

    Do you ever have a day where things are just rosy? Well that’s been my day (and it’s not over yet!!).

    Lots of fun conversations with old and new friends, especially feeling the familiarity of Salt Lake City (a place that as home to us for several years). Breathing deeply and just letting it all wash over me. :)

    On another note: as I sat in a writing workshop this morning I realized just how much my laptop has become an extension of myself. When I sit with it on my lap I seem much more able to interface with my world. I was a bit troubled by that realization–took it out and examined it for a moment. Wondered if I was missing out on some intimacy by always needing to have my computer (and wireless!) at hand. I may have to experiment with disconnecting myself sometime. But not now (hmmm….do I sound addicted or what?). In some ways I feel as if junebug (my affectionate name for my laptop) has become a kind of prosthetic extension of my self. This blog, too, is a part of that. A way of creating myself through images and text that is wholly me at the same time that it is wholly separate from me….

  • on my own


    IMG_3673, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

    After a week of family togtherness (aka my family reunion), I’ll be on my own (sans John or the kiddoes) until Friday night. Not sure what sorts of adventures I will have, but I’m sure they will be good ones. [Note: I’ll be spending much of my time at the Sunstone Symposium, so it’s not like I’ll be _totally_ on my own…]

    Today I ate cookies for breakfast. How’s that for a nice segue into some solotime??

  • Make me smile…

    Have been road trippin’ for the past few days and now am settled in a cozy basement room with Aunt Suz’s big mancat purring at my feet (and counting myself quite lucky!).

    The adventures of the past few days are too numerous to recount here, but a few highlights:

    -flash flooding throughout southern Utah. Mud. And rivers of water. And the heady heavy scent of rain in the desert.

    -fresh peach pie (heavy on the fresh part), so good that it melted in my mouth

    -giggling neices and nephews. Seeing GameBoy and CatGirl watching over their young cousins.

    -the familiarity of Mom’s new home, our old futon couch, and looking into a sibling’s eyes and seeing so many years of shared experiences reflected back at me.

    -taking pictures of the sunset over the mountains as we drove through Sardine Canyon. Loving the wind blowing in my face as I held the camera steady in the window.

    -Clouds. The ever-changing splendor of the Cache Valley sky.

  • teatime


    I’ll be in Salt Lake City soon, and would like to meet with some of my readers while I’m in town! It’s my intention to be at the Beehive Tearoom on the afternoons of Wednesday, Aug 8th and Thursday, Aug 9th. If you’re available to meet on those afternoons, please drop me a line (phddillyATyahooDAWTcom) and we’ll plan a firm meetup time. Ok? Can’t wait to see you there!! :)

  • creativity


    From this lovely post at Message from the Muse, speaking of the courage necessary to follow one’s own creative inspiration:

    “Next time you have a brilliant idea, a shining truth, or even a half-cracked oyster, use that intuitive nose of yours to sniff out the situation. You can only smell the swine if you have identified them in your own psyche and comes to terms with them. When you notice you’re near a trough or trucking through the mud, it’s a good indicator to keep those sweet pearls to yourself. Enjoy them. Celebrate them. And soon a prince, a pauper, a jeweler or a pink poodle with an affinity for oysters is bound to happen by. You’ll know who they are when they show up, if you use your friend Discernment. Then it’s time to take out the pearls, share them, spend them, thread them on a vein of gold and string them ’round your throat. It’s there they shine.”

    One of the things that keeps my own inspiration flowing is seeing the efforts of others, their inspiring photography, reading their poetry, considering the passion with which they live their lives. Along this vein I particularly love etsy (an arts/crafts website) because of the beauty and sparkle of the handmade goods therein. I may not always have the money to buy the pretty things on display, but I am energized by the colors, textures, and enthusiasm of those who create. A few of my recent favorites:

    -a funky frenchy shoulder bag
    -these beautiful bowls and bright mug
    -a print of this collage, because it’s just lovely
    -more handmade jewelry, from sara and other favorite sellers
    –this groovy tee or this one, because they remind me of my garden

  • back and forth


    When my little ones were truly little, I had a favorite chair
    a rocker that I found at ‘The Giving Spot’
    (a place where things were left that needed a new home)

    I’d just birthed my son and I wanted a rocker for nursing him
    This chair was old, an antique
    Some chips in the paint, one arm a bit loose
    But it still had life left in it

    We rocked and we rocked.

    Probably an hour or more together per day
    Not to mention my solo rocking as I read and crocheted
    and dreamed

    We gave that chair away about five years ago
    There just wasn’t room for it anymore
    And it was more than a bit shabby-looking
    and in need of fixing beyond my dabs of wood glue

    For some reason I was looking at some ads on craigslist yesterday
    And I happened upon a photo of a rocking chair
    Not the same chair, but the same chair

    And now its mine. For my porch.
    When I first sat in it this afternoon
    And rocked
    I sang my special (made up in my head and sung just for them) lullabys for the kids
    Watching with delight as they remembered
    what they’d not even known that they had forgotten.

  • fresh


    eggplant, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

    This lovely little eggplant will make some mighty-fine ratatouille. :)

  • take a deep breath…


    yellow dianthus, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

    I don’t know why exactly, but gazing into the sworl of petals on this pale yellow dianthus flower makes me feel so peaceful and relaxed. Serene. And cool.

  • Food for thought….

  • all better


    fingers, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

    So CatGirl came to me with a worried look on her brow. She held out her finger towards me.

    “It’s a leaf cut–like a paper cut, but from the edge of a leaf.”

    Sure enough, I could see a small cut at the joint of her second finger. She squeezed it a bit and a bright smear of blood showed.

    “It really burns.”

    “Ok, we’ll leave for home soon. It’s getting dark anyways…”

    I resumed my gardening task and CG went up to the spigot to wash her hand.

    She returned a few moments later, so proud of her garden bandage: a soft ‘cloth’ of lambsear tied with a sprig of Mexican sage.

    “It feels better now.”

  • to die for

    Saw this sigfile on a message from an email list today:

    Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you:
    1. Jesus Christ
    2. The American G. I.
    One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.

    Wow. I don’t know what the definition of a ‘defining force’ is, but I can think of other people who have put their life on the line for me–starting with my own mother on my birthday. And I don’t know any American GI’s who have ever personally offered to die for me. And, honestly, though I appreciate the unselfish sentiment of both Jesus and the GI, I’d rather they’d just live(d) their own lives rather than sacrifice themselves on my behalf. I can take care of my own soul and my own freedom, thank you.