Category: Random

mon cheri, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

John’s sweet post yesterday made me happy. I especially loved his links to past anniversaries, some of which I’d forgotten about. For example, here are his thoughts on our tenth celebration:

we didn’t do any of the things you’re supposed to do on your tenth anniversary, like take a second honeymoon, or buy expensive jewelry, or go on a cruise, or eat dinner at a fancy restaurant, or whatever it is people do who make it this far. both jana and i were concerned at times and apologetic to each other. “maybe we should have done something more memorable,” we lamented.

but in the end, we celebrated simplicity. we celebrated doing things our own way, and we celebrated just being with each other. our move back to the university, our rejection of the inanity of the “keeping up with the joneses” approach to living, this seems like adventure enough. i am recording this because, when we look back on this many years from now, i want us to be able to remember that we did celebrate our tenth anniversary in a manner that was uniquely us and deeply satisfying to the both of us::

And some of my anniversary posts through the years:
13 years

Number 14 (wherein we break some rules)

Year #15 (in Boston!)

And, last year

John and I haven’t officially celebrated this year yet, because we’ll be doing so this weekend. I think we were smart to get married right around Labor Day–so we always have a holiday weekend for our anniversaries. :)

the couple that podcasts together…, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

I found this pic recently while I was cleaning out some photos on my hard drive. It’s nothing special, but it brought back warm memories of the days when John & I used to podcast together (we snapped this in the middle of a recording session). It seems like the two of us are always up to something interesting. :)

Seventeen years ago, on an early Wednesday morning, John and I exchanged vows of love and fidelity. I knew then that we’d started something amazing. And that feeling still persists…each and every day.

My garden, in the morning, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

A day full of family, catching up on things, and enjoying the last hurrah of summer (with some sizzling SoCal temperatures).

How was your day?

Elegant Jana., originally uploaded by mind on fire.

Letting my hair down just a bit today…

Sometimes it’s hard for me to be constantly in front of John’s lens (my own personal paparazzi). But sometimes I enjoy being his model, as in this candid pic that he snapped a few days ago…

My garden, in the morning, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

With temps reading 100-105 degrees, it seems like the weather is all everyone can talk about. But I’m not complaining about the heat. It seems that finally summer is here, and my garden is loving it.

The cats are all sprawled around on furniture and floors in the path of the hallway fan, lazing away the warm-ish afternoon.

heliotrope, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

There must be a way
to retain the nobility of trees
and the surefootedness of rocks

If we could sing always from here, canyon:
From here where the gold makes up to the green for staying,
Perhaps we could say what we must

[…]
Tell them of the gold in the leaves
and the leaving that summons
the compounding of everything shaped or shaping.

Sing of the consummate gift of being used.

Go with sureness of wondering
and the keenness of being in touch.

Take on the buoyance of birds
Take root in the crevices of the world.

Hold to the rocks. Speak of reverence for being
And be in favor of trees

~excerpts from “Speak of Reverence for Being” by Emma Lou Thayne

grandma’s quilt of many colors, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

My Mom’s latest creation, held together by safety pins because it still needs quilting.

The colors of this piece render me rather speechless. It’s such a perfect cacophony, all on its own.

serenity, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

I’d intended for today to be a day of peace and serenity. I got up fairly early and had the first few hours of the morning to myself. Lovely.

But things didn’t go so smoothly from there on out. I went to Quaker Meeting, but had some things on my mind that made it difficult to relax into the silence. I felt disconnected and had a sense of urgency about some pressing matters that made me second-guess my being there. As soon as Meeting closed, I got a call from John that his bike had broken down about 40 miles into his “century” (100 mile) trek and he needed my aid.

Of course the freeway between him and me was moving at 6-10 miles per hour. Sigh. Eventually finding John was joy, even if I wasn’t a happy camper along the way there.

Some days don’t go as we planned, do they?

I got home from the bike shop and had a bit of nap, puttered around in the garden, and was just plain lazy for a few hours.

I still haven’t regained that sense of serenity that I’d started the day with and hoped to carry with me all day long, but I suspect that it will return again tomorrow morning. And we’ll see what happens from there…

on the back porch, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

This bee had the most intense rendezvous with one of my squash blossoms. He stayed at the flower for more than five minutes, never seeming to get enough of its pollen-y goodness. He didn’t even mind when I brought the camera in for a close-up–he was far too involved to notice.

I have to say that I love seeing critters who look like they’re having so much fun. Can’t you just imagine that he was loving being covered from antenna to toe in yellow?

My garden, in the morning, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

Lavender’s blue, dilly dilly, lavender’s green,
When I am king, dilly, dilly, you shall be queen.
Who told you so, dilly, dilly, who told you so?
‘Twas my own heart, dilly, dilly, that told me so.

Call up your men, dilly, dilly, set them to work
Some with a rake, dilly, dilly, some with a fork.
Some to make hay, dilly, dilly, some to thresh corn.
While you and I, dilly, dilly, keep ourselves warm.

Lavender’s green, dilly, dilly, Lavender’s blue,
If you love me, dilly, dilly, I will love you.
Let the birds sing, dilly, dilly, And the lambs play;
We shall be safe, dilly, dilly, out of harm’s way.

I love to dance, dilly, dilly, I love to sing;
When I am queen, dilly, dilly, You’ll be my king.
Who told me so, dilly, dilly, Who told me so?
I told myself, dilly, dilly, I told me so.

Albuquerque, by air, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

I rarely take pics while flying, simply because it’s mostly clouds out there anyways. But how different the trip to and from Albuquerque was–hardly a cloud in the sky all the way. I loved the textures and colors of the desert, even as I marveled at the strength of the people who live in such an arid environment.

mon cheri, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

I might have to stop keeping a bouquet of roses on the table in my living room. Because everytime I walk past this one, I melt into it.