february 9th - 15th....valentine's day & snow

february 9th....let it snow

so winter is finally making a face.  we had another lovely snowfall. slow, steady and just the right amount.  it was absolutely magic...the trees especially looking like lace doilies all cut out of white paper.

cotton growing in my garden???

ducks on the pond at the elkins estate



february 10th....

this was the first girl's night out for our office.  the plan was to go to the blue comet (a local pub) in glenside and have a few drinks.  but as it turned out, it was also the grand opening for my friend jule's new store 'not just antiques' which, as it happens, is just around the corner from the pub.  so our first stop....you guessed it.

robin's find

wendy found a cute little jewery box for her daughter and robin found the perfect case for her new camera.

                              and i tried on a hat, drank a glass of wine and ate a chocolate covered fig...yum

joyce & robin

                                               then we went to the pub and had a drinky..yum


february 11th....

belly dance class and then a bunch of us went shopping for costume fabric for a performance in march.  on our way to jomar (fabulous place for inexpensive and big selection of fabrics) we saw the most beautiful huge white tree...it was a sycamore tree, never saw one so big and white. 

we stopped the car and yael and i hopped out to take pictures and offer our obeisances to this magnificent specimen. 

                 decisions descisions....here we are finally at the cutting table.  what fun we had.

their lordships sri sri radha madhava

later in the evening i went to the hare krishna temple in mount airy to drop off some flyers for my new classical indian dance class.  hoping to pick up some new students.  then on to lida's with diana to watch the latest episode of downton abbey.  very full day.  


february 13th.....

monday ...what can i say...a little bird sitting in a bush.  sweet tweet. 


february 14th.....

valentine's day...i got a valentine from my friend tina...so cute. and a beautiful bookmark valentine from lida
thank you ladies for making my day. 

valentine from tina

february 15th....
busy day today at work....but you may be wondering

what do i do all day every day at work??   sit at a desk, push paper, put out fires, talk on phone, and dream of another life.  

after work i stopped over at my sons house to see my grandchildren. they were out at co-op when i arrived, so i cleaned the kitchen a little till they got home. sheila made a lovely chilli and i got to hold madhava who was wide awake and smiled a hundred smiles while the rest of the family eats and  my heart melts.  here's uma washing dishes after dinner.  she loves to stand at the sink and watch the water running while she washes her dish. 

madhava and i watched uma washing up after dinner.  he's growing sooooo fast.  he's filling out in a way uma never did.  big fat cheeks and his thighs are getting thick.  his eyes are starting to clear up and they definitely look blue now.  what a cutie.

then i drove over to have dinner with my dear friend lida.  she made roasted veggies served over arugula with balsamic vinegar.   delicious.  

february 2 - 8th....full moon

ebruary 2nd.....

tribal jewelery at 'not just antiques'

thursday evening...jule's store opened till 6pm, so i stopped in to say hello after work and before my dance class.  lots of tribal looking jewelery.  very exciting stuff. and the store looked so pretty, getting ready for valentines day, hearts on display. 

jule also has some fabulous vintage eyewear...check her out below wearing a pair of cool specs.  

jule wearing cool specs

february 3rd.....

here's  a pic of some bulbs coming up in my garden.  though it's only the beginning of february it's feeling like the end of march.  the garden is coming to life.  i've seen snowdrops and crocuses already.  praying my magnolia tree doesn't start budding....these bulbs are hardy and can handle the snow and cold, but my magnolia won't. 


february 4th....

beautiful stained glass at my studio captured my attention this morning when i walked in to work. the light and warm  wood features were so delicious.   happy saturday!








february 5th....


susie and i practicing a new move this morning
yay sunday!

i spend a lot of time in my studio, so it is good that i love the space and the people who grace my classroom.

lida, diana & i at the movies

february 6th.....

here's a shot of the lenten rose that is blooming in my garden. usually not up until march, this warm weather has everything and everyone confused. 

february 7th......full moon

finally the full moon.  so beautiful tonight. 

uma and i looked at it together and sang a little song.


 happy full moon everyone.  

diane, jeanne, robin & me

met with my dance class and we spent time talking about the performance we're planning for our dear teacher's 99th birthday celebration.  afterward a few of us went out for dinner.   good times.






february 8th....
                                          snuggling with madhava

e-ma & madhava

snow fall on malla & pelu

another week has flown by.  a long day at work.  when i left work it was snowing so beautifull...nice big flakes slowly falling to the ground.  just like in a glass snow ball...very lovely.    i started my evening snuggling with madhava, playing with uma and then home to relax and read.  

uma playing 2 the same

uma with play dough beard

playing with the pie....   a friend made uma  play dough for her birthday. what  a great gift. uma loves to pretend she's making pie and that's why  she refers to it as " pie" and often asks to play with it. once she's done making pies and worms she likes me to make her fashion something out of the play dough.  she tells me what to make and i make it.  of course her favorite thing is to squish it up.  so after i made a cat and a robot  i suggested that she make a cat. but she told me that "i cannot make a cat, i will be frusterated"!!  can you imagine a two year old can even know what frustrated means, what to speak of understanding the concept.  she is so amazing.  so i had an idea...i made her a bracelet, then i made her a ring and she was thrilled.  what else should i make??? she pointed to my nose stud....so i made her a nose stud and stuck it on.  then she asked for earrings (she loves my jewelery and always asks about it).  now what?? i asked..."can you make me a beard?"  of course is said and then we went to the mirror to see the restults. she was thrilled. 

january 26 - february 1st....waxing moon

january 26th...

exhausting day on every level. emotional, physical, mental, pounding out a static rhythm on my head. ouch!
relief...i need relief...where to go? what to do?  i drove right over the see uma...knew that would bring me out of my head, out of my aching body, and make me smile and laugh to boot. "hi-lo"  i shouted as i walked in the door.    "e-ma"! i could her her squeal with delight from upstairs...i could hear her little steps running down the hallway to the staircase.  i looked up and saw her standing there at the top of the stairs with a huge smile on her face. she was so sincerely happy to see me.  my heart melted.  we skyped with grandpa and abulita on her littel ipad.  it is so sweet that her grandfather (my x) takes the time to spend with her.  god knows he had no time for his own son when he was that age...too driven with his own worthy vocational aspirations to have time to spend playing.  after skype we went downstairs to play some games. ' two the same' of course that's a given and then we got in a game of soccer....she's a natural



 after we played with the sensory tub again.  then after about 10 minutes uma suggested that we have a rest.  she lay down in tub full of beans and buttons and proceed to have a 20 minute nap just lying there thinking and hardly moving. i lay on the floor next to her in disbelief.  this is the girl who never stops moving ...  so for her to lie still for 20 minutes was unprecedented as far as my experience of uma. i had to get up twice just to take a peek at her to see if she was sleeping because she was still, but no...she was lying there staring into space and resting.
if my phone hadn't rung i wonder how much longer it would have lasted.  but as it was, she got up and started to play again.  madhava woke up from his nap so i got to see him for a few minutes and even cuddle for a while (thank you mama) before i left for my thursday dance class. 

madhava & his daddy

wonderful class...nice size group of women, about ten of us.  learning is a hard as an adult especially because we thing we should already know everything and are therefore unwilling to feel awkward and unknowing. therefore we become resisitant to learning new stuff.  i know i really have to push myself most of the time to go to class, to keep myself open to the process and willing to be the novice.  it's hard at my age because my body hurts so. but then i think of hedy and how it must feel to be in a 99 year old body.  if i think it hurts now, imagine how it will be down the road.  i have to remind myself that it will never be as good as it is right now so stop complaining and keep moving.

january  27....

dhani's birthday today ....i prepared a small dinner for our family and a couple of his friends. nothing too fancy

but it was wholesome and tasty.  he requested his favorite dish 'gaurunga potatoes' which is a potato casserole with lots of sour cream, butter and spices. i also made a vegan version of it for my daughter and i...scalloped potatoes with soy milk.  i made a big pot of heart soup and steamed some greens to eat with quinoa. i got home from work and cooked everything while company stood around and chatted and watched the meal come into being. though i felt tiring it is also satisfying to cook for my family.  happy birthday my love....





january 28th....

early morning yoga class very soothing. glorious day.... the sun was shining in the windows and the lighting in the studio was delightful.  i had to take some pictures but i knew it would be annoying to the others in my class so i tried to be stealthy....however someone noticed and complained.  urgh...i felt so bad.  

sometimes it is a struggle to decide whether i should be part of the action or the observer.  i want to be both things, but it is not possible.  as soon as the camera is in my hand i have stepped out of the activity and become a voyeur. 












shivasanahhhhhh......








january 29th... one of those day...none of the pics it took turned out.  i got quite a few shots out in the garden, but alas they came out so dark that they were not salvageable.  darn.  






january 30th....the visit

uma and madhava's grandparents came for a long visit. this is the first time they are seeing madhava in the flesh...they live in parsons, kanasas and lead very busy lives.  i gave them lots of space to enjoy their grandchildren and the rest of the family.  uma s so lucky because she has three grandmothers and two grandfathers....she really hit the mother-lode (pun intended).

red tent temple meet-up at tedi's house.  we had a beautiful evening of sharing, dancing, coloring mandala's, crying and laughing.  so healing. i am learning to appreciate these gatherings and  look forward to the next red tent.  thank you ladies











january 31st....
i went over to my son's house to take pictures of baby madhava. it was sunny and the lighting was good but we didn't have the right set up and most of the pictures are not very good.  we'll do it again later this week. he's growing up so fast....it seemed when uma was a baby that time dragged on for ever. oh the delicious baby cuteness...i can't get enough of him.  

february 1st.... where did january go?
this picture of the moon is misleading...it looks much fuller in this picture then it did with the bare eye.    february started with the surprise return of my dear friend diana from thailand. we weren't expecting her back for another three weeks, but circumstances dictated her early return.  we got together over at diana's house and had dinner and caught up on everything that had transpired in the two weeks he was gone. 


d's house is very influenced by her travels don't you agree.  

january 19 - 25....let it snow

january 19th...

susie

practice makes perfect...or if not perfect, then better.  i'm really working on improving my technique and attending as many classes as possible certainly helps me get better.  my biggest problem with improvisational belly dance when i sometimes have to lead and my poor brain starts stressing out and freezing up.  but i am committed to pushing myself out of my comfort zone.  intuitively i know it is important for me to do the things i don't feel comfortable doing.  and so i do.  thank you to my wonderful teacher and class mates for putting up with me.  

january 20th...let it snow

woke up this morning to the first real snowfall of the season. snow makes everything look to bright and clean. the roads didn't look too bad so i bundled up and drove over to the studio for an early yoga class.

cheryl

this is my dear friend cheryl coming out from our yoga class looking very charged from the experience. yoga is such an uplifting enterprise, it always leaves me feeling very light and clear headed; ready to face the day.









january 21st...

e-ma and madhava

today  i held my little grandson madhava in my arms for the first time.... what joy!!  he's one moonth old today, meaning it has been one full moon cycle since his birth. he is such a busy little guy....burping, farting, wiggling, stretching, making all manner of grunts and noises, smiling, hiccuping and looking around.   so full of life and movement. he smells delicious and i am very glad to get to know him at last.  life is good. 

 

while madhava and i were inside snuggling mama and big sister uma were outside playing in the snow. 










january 22nd...bubbling

rain day. woke up this morning feeling very creative and bubbling with ideas.  after my dance class i went over to my friend amy's house to play with ideas and beads.  i made several pair of earrings and we talked about all manner of ideas for projects we're working on individually and together.  

amy has been such an inspiration for me.  she designs and creates fabulous creations, jewelery, belts, sculpture, photography, just to name a few mediums she works in.

amy ragsdale designs

i felt honored to be allowed to play in her studio... thank you dear friend for including me in your life. 












january 23rd....


beautiful sunny day today. sitting in my office looking out the window. the leaves on the bushes are sparkling in the sun, beckoning me to go out and take a little walk about...and so it do. there is much going on in the garden ...love these purple berries.
pleasant looking face on our office building looking out over the garden. 

january 24....

lida and i got together to prepare a ukranian vinegret salad. this was a prep her mother used to make, one that she loved to eat. the recipe calls for  potatoes, beets, cannelli beans, onions, parsley, sauerkraut and pickles.  boil the potato and beet (in separate pots) untill tender but still firm. once they are cooled cut into small cubes.  chop up the pickles and add everything else and toss with oil l in big bowl. add a little salt and voila...delicious! 

we'd been planning this for a long time, lida promised to make it for a friend and i was so happy to be in on the making and learning.  the best part of the evening was when we sat down to eat.  

lida made some roasted veggies and red quinoa too, but truly i could have eat the vinegret and nothing else, it was sooooo good.

january 25th...

the sensory tub

this evening i am going to visit my modern dancce teacher hedy, who has been laid up sick for a couple of weeks.   but first a quick stop in at my favorite after work spot...you know here.  uma's newest toy is a sensory tub...it's a plastic tub filled with dried black beans and colorful plastic buttons.  it really does engage the senses; texture, color, delightfully  tactile experience.  add spoons, cups, ladles, etc...and it's a whole lot of  fun and not too messy as long as you remember to not get too crazy with the beans.  it's even fun to sit or lie in.  what fun!! 

hedy walking the hallways

at 6:30 it was time to leave to visit hedy, so i gave everyone hugs goodbye and off i went.  it was rainy and kind of dreary but i was happy to see hedy at last.  she's not been well and it is so hard for me to get over to see her as much as i should like.  when i walked into her room the first thing she said was how happy she was to see me and how about going for a walk.  i brought over the walker and watched her pull herself up to her feet, don't help me, she said.  by now i know better than to try to help her do anything with first asking or being asked.  we walked the long hallway down to the nurses station and then all the way down the other hall to the dining room.  she turned around to return and i could see she was very tired and in a lot of pain,.  we walked back to the nurses station and hedy sat down in a chair with great effort.  she had her head down for quite a few minutes until she was able to adjust herself into a comfortable position.   she was spent.

after i got home i reflected on the disparity and similarity of the two females i spent my evening with.  both very single minded, and determined to do for themselves.  one who never sits still and the other who knows that when its time to sit still, its time to die.