No Way: Just A Normal Day

Maybe They'll See

dark and silent

the night sky lies

in the midst of the people

who can't hear their cries

too involved in their world

that surround their mind

that fools them and tricks them

until they go blind

with eyes that can't see,

but maybe they'll see

there's a light in the sky

that just might come down

if they're willing to try

and bring on new life

open their dark world and

dissolve all the strife

with eyes that can't see,

but maybe they'll see

but before all that

hold on to hope

and set your mind free

let the sun come up

and don't let the worries decay

don't ponder darkness

or fear the day

with eyes that can't see,

but maybe they'll see

You cannot be upset with the ones in your way

When a day is crashed and somber.

A Poem From A Friend

I found this in an old email.

Thanks Shannon.

"you don't know where you're going,
 well, neither do i,
 there's a time for completion
 and a time to cry,
 and at the brink of depletion of our electronic lives
 there's a way to smile and draw tears from dry...
 no matter the land that i stand on a sigh
 from my grasp of nothing,
 to your hopeful eyes,
 i'll look back and keep ringing the doorbell of our past lives
 and wait for his bark, or your steps, or the sky"

Cahier

We live and we die,

Becomes scavengers of the rye.

Sleep in quarters unknown,

Turn our backs to our own.

Awake and then leave,

For the saddness we grieve.

Pull It Off

Just do it.

TwentyTwenty

                                                          

La La LA

I found these at sweet paul's blog. I really love the way they look. I am constantly inspired by interior design projects. There are times when I all I want to do is craft craft craft.

Maybe I'll go to the Dusty Bookstore tomorrow and buy some old French books. Then, I will paste them on my wall. Ah brilliant! I am so excited.

I also really love this wall decor.

What Is Divine Is Beautiful

Stokstad said, "Many believed that people create art for the sheer love of beauty."

I love creating art because it is beautiful. Everything about it has beauty.  And to me beauty is more than general pleasing appearances.

We are aesthetic beings: constantly concerned with appearances, but in a positive light, ones to appreciate beauty.

Beauty is a divine image.

Divinity comes from the creator.

In us is the creator.

Through the creator we are instruments of divine grace and beauty for other people.

We are all instruments being used by a great artist.

Everyone of us are descendants of a beautiful artist.

From the beginning we have been given the gift of becoming beautiful artists ourselves:

[Artists] that can give beautiful creations to the world.

[Creations] intended to be images of the divine.

 "Many believed that people create art for the sheer love of beauty" that the creator planted in all of us from the beginning of time.

A Song For The Weak

Paper Dolls don't see the pretty things:

Colorful lives and delicate honey on the trees.

Be in better shape my dear friend

In feeling so lonesome.

Picture the land and think of it often.

Save your soul in the trees and rest.

Better yet, lie in the fresh spring grass, 

Count every blade and instantly be made.

Be of it what you may and never cease.

Follow the steps that lead behind, they are yours.

Caramelizing life, in heat and in sweetness.

Penetrating knowledge, driven beautifully here.

When Away

We shine like the 

stars

When away

We reach out and touch

When away

We organize and wake 

When away

We live in the light

When away

And when away, we sway, we stay

In love with the way

he graciously lay.

Win Win

Yes, all of these decisions I have made, thus far, have been exactly for reasons due to the direction I choose to take and the plans I make and what He has decided to take and give.

And so, as I decide to let the given me taken and what's taken be gone, I am in a "thoughtful, living for the now, free of making the wrong decision" environment...

Everything and anything decided yesterday, now, and later is good.

None lost.

Minus One

July has been very different than June. I am having much more fun, but in a different way. Of course.



I probably would never have grabbed a cup of old Brazilian coffee, heated it up in the microwave, and cut a slice of a lemon off for a snack. It is such an odd (bad!) combination that I somehow awefully like.



The weather is much hotter.



I go to bed every night atleast 5 hours later.



I wake up atleast 2 hours later.



I definitely dropped the baking habit, or the experiment part of it.



I am happy about most decisions, minus one.



In general, most of these changes or differences are good, minus one.

I think it is safe to say that this picture describes the combination of the changes: less work, more time, time baking, baking hearts, hearts at work, less work, more time, more time, more hearts, more time, more hearts, more time, more more more, more time, less coffee, no more coffee, no, wait, more coffee, less sleep, more time and more hearts.



i may never bake again

Sunnyside Ave

June was filled with a lot of early bed times and clothes worn way too many times for the rule of the law.  It escaped in the midst of me figuring out what to do with time.  

The lesson to learn before actually spending time is to not be lazy.

Rule # 1

Do not let your imagination get the best of you.

In fact, let yourself get the best of your imagination.

This is all the information and wisdom I have to provide today, but just let it sink in.

It is a lot for one rule. 

And while taking all of that in, just remember to...

"always look for the silver lining and try to find the sunny side of life"

Building

I find myself in the same location,
Beating upon broken records of ill thought.
In a new brightening morning
Of a new lit place
I can see the sad begin to wake.

Green gardens make a place full
Of warmer trails,
While this great charm is the product of disaster.

While the beautiful live in full, the lonely live in loss.

Replications of these symbols nature provides
Break the ground for honesty,
Or a possible reach for humanity.

On Saturday Anna and I experienced the beautiful Seattle weather.  Although it took us awhile to get ready in the morning and rid of early ill tempered manner, we ventured out into the sunny day.  

Our first stop was Cafe Fiore, where once again, we got coffee and peanut butter on toast.  We sat outside for quite some time and soaked up the sun.  It was so hot out, but felt so nice.  

(I got a tad burned, but this Seattle sun, although so hot, does not burn your skin so much as the Kansas sun)

After sitting out in the sun at Cafe Fiore we went to the craft store and bought dye for our clothes and paint and bandanas to decorate.  Then, we went to a grocery store and bought some water, film, batteries, and  A HAT. That was so weird. We bought a hat... at a grocery store!

Anyways, we took all our new little buys and headed for the beach.  At the beach we layed out for a while and got a couple drinks at a coffee shop.  It felt nice, but after a while we decided we did not want to be there anymore.  The place was a little weird and we wanted to head back home.

So, after a days trip to various interesting places we settled back at home where we grilled asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, and mushrooms.  It tasted good, but having just veggies for dinner made us a little sick.

We ended up going on a walk and coming back a little tired and fell asleep fast again.

On Sunday morning we woke up again a little frazzled.  We were going to go get coffee at a coffee shop Anna really likes before going to church but we took so long getting ready.

Therefore, we went to church at 11 and afterwards got crêpes at the Ballard Market.  There were très très délicieux.  It was a buckwheat crêpe avec spinach, mozzarella, and feta.

I met Anna's friend Sarah. She is very nice.  The three of us walked around the market for a while and then walked with Anna over to her work.  While Anna worked I walked around the market more by myself and took a few pictures.  The rest of the afternoon I hung out with Anna at her shop and tried on all sorts of clothes.

At seven we took the bus to the U District to stop at Trader Joe's.  We needed more chocolate covered espresso.  The sad part of this story is that Trader Joes was out of them.  However, the adventure did not end there.  We went to Scarecrow and rented Vertigo.  Then, we walked around Green Lake.  It was a great walk!! We had so much energy. 

After the walk we came back to the house and did our own thing for a while, then got ready for bed and put on Vertigo.

Yesterday I woke up when Anna came back from work.  We went on a walk (I was basically in my pj's) with our tea.  We walked into Mighty O's and got a sample of donut.  It was delicious.  The donuts are vegan so I suppose they are healthier than regular lard fat donuts.

When we got back we made breakfast. This included french toast made from our delicious raison pecan bread. Oh so delicious. We also ate some banana, blueberries, and blackberries. It was quite the breakfast.

Anna had the afternoon off because of the holiday.  So in celebration of that, after breakfast, we sat around for a long time, talking about art and the wish to have nothing else to do. 

 Actually she had a deadline for some online art contest.  The stress to get that done woke us up.

Finally some time around 3 maybe 4 we actually left the house for good and walked down to the bus stop to head to Goodwill.  We thought maybe we would find something fun to make crafts with, but nah.  Anna did buy a camera for 4 dollars though.  

From the Goodwill we walked to Ballard.  By then we were pretty hungry and really wanted some of that good ol'Patty Pan Grill.  Sadly, it was closed.  What were we going to do???

Well, first we had to pick up Anna's books at Epilogue Books, but really, we needed to figure out where to eat.  After some walking around we decided to check out the Oaxacan restaurant.  We also looked at a Thai place, but for some reason we picked Oaxacan food. It looked delicious: fresh salsa, mole, spices, crunchy greens, beans, orange slices, and chicken.   So we ordered tamales and shrimp empanadas. 

It was good, but sadly quite exotic on our mild stomachs.  The only things we have been eating lately are things like bread, fruit, veggies, chocolate, and....tea? All the spices made us a little uneasy, as well as the fact that we have not eaten meat in a long time.  Also, that mole negro was very very rich.  It has such a distinct taste, which you cannot have too much of.  

Anyways, after that intense Oaxacan meal we went back to Wallingford and took a nice long walk around Greenlake.  It was beautiful.  

And after a long day of celebration of not working and eating rich food I am excited for todays adventure to Discovery Park.

Happy Saturday!

P.S.  I don't have any pictures up because they are all on my film camera now. and..

(Anna, I hope you can handle all the food this summer when you are in Oaxaca)

 Oh and here she is being the expert.

Yesterday when Anna got back from work we were both tired.  She especially was because of work, so we both just rested before doing anything too big.

About an hour or so later we took off towards downtown Seattle on a bus.  Last time I was here I never went so far into the city, but it is quite large and busy.  There were a lot of stores I didn't know downtown had, like Anthropologie.  Their Anthropologie is HUGE. It is two stories and glorious.

We walked a bit more through the city and then finally caught a bus to Capitol Hill.  There we ate lunch at Joe's Bar.  It is a cute coffee/crêpes shop. We waited for a while for our crêpe, but finally got it and it was delicious.  It had eggs and spinach and cheese.

After Joe's Bar we waited outside again for a bus.  It was a while's wait, but I enjoyed looking around.  The area we were in was so cute. It looked like a small european town.  I wish I had taken some pictures, but I think Anna and I will be back there again after church on Sunday.  

When the bus came we got on and rode it to the University District and then caught another bus that took us to Wallingford.  We walked back to the house and Anna got a snack before going back to work.  

I sat around the house for awhile after Anna left.  Then, at around four I went to the movie theater to see Smart People.  I bought some popcorn for myself :| It was fun.

The movie wasn't too bad either.

We had planned on cooking up some veggies to eat at dinner, but when we met outside the movie theater (which had perfect timing by the way) we both agreed we weren't hungry. Hmm funny.  Although, we still went to the grocery store to pick up a few things.  I am always forgetful, but I think we got some more apples, a grapefruit, blackberries, blueberries, and mushrooms.  

When we got back from the grocery store we both laid down in her bed and looked at pictures of pretty houses and rooms and fashion on her computer.  We were so lazy and so tired and yet starting to get hungry, but we were too lazy and tired to put anything in our mouths.  We kept talking about food.  We looked up recipes of french toast and quiche and it made us even more hungry, but we were still too lazy to get up.  Finally, around ten or so we go up and made some tea, but nothing sounded good to eat.  Therefore, we drank the tea, got ready for bed, and snuggled up to  To Catch A Theif one more time.

And today, this morning, I sit here at the little kitchen nook, eating my raison pecan toast with crunchy peanut butter and bananas on top.  This is my place to write in my blog while Anna is at work.

 

Here is the stove where I make my tea in the morning.  

This morning I went on a jog around the neighborhood.  It was refreshing.  The air is so crisp.

Yesterday I arrived in Seattle around noon.  Anna picked me up and we drove to Café Fiore,where she got an americano and I got a soy latté.  We both ate toast with peanut butter.

We sat on the porch outside on little stools, facing the various plants growing in back that covered other old brick buildings: apartments or shops.  

Anna showed me Ballard, an area of Seattle, where Café Fiore is and where TwentyTwenty is.  This is a great vintage store she works at and we stepped inside for a bit. 

After sitting, getting a little lunch, and walking around a bit we headed to Anna's house and set down my things.  At around three we headed toward the international elementary school where she works.  

The children are adorable and rather charming for first grade.  Their eagerness to learn about the world is wonderful and their knowledge of languages is vast.  It was continent day and they were able to travel the world and receive many stamps in their passport :)

Today is not as sunny as yesterday, but still great.  It is a bit cloudy and has been misting off and on.  Anna and I came down to Ballard again for lunch. We went to Patty Pan Grill. It was delicious.  Grilled vegetables (like cabbage, onions, peppers) were so incredibly good! I can't wait to go back.

Right now I am at Cupcake Royale (with peppermint tea...yum) while Anna is at work.   She has to work from 1-6 pm.  Today is my day to walk around on my own and do whatever I would like.  

I think the sun may be coming out :)

And Fleet Foxes is definitely playing in the background.

Excellent.

After sitting at Cupcake Royale for a couple hours and ichatting with Tiffany (a blast!) I left the place, seeking the outdoors that were suddenly, hopefully, willingly bringing sunshine back into our eyes.

I turned corners, crossed streets, stopped and watched the happy people spend their Wednesday afternoon.  I walked into a couple shops, saying "hello", then taking a few looks and walking back out.  I took a couple pictures of the avenues, so full of trees the sky only leaked through bashfully.  On my way out of Ballard Avenue, soon arriving at Market Street, I noticed a barbershop called Rudy's and walked straight in.  "No appointments! Just walk in!" 

Yep, I just walked in.  I also walked straight to the front desk and told them I wanted a hair cut.  They starred at me and said, "Ok, what's your name?" I told them, and one of the blonde girl hovered over the counter, shot up and said, "My name is Heidi too!" I smiled, nodded my head, she said, "There arn't many of us out there".   Yeah, ok, she's right.

So, I cut my hair. It wasn't much, just a trim here and there, a few layers in the front.

You can't tell a difference.

After the haircut I headed towards Market Street and got on a bus to take me back to Wallingford.  

Phew, my adventure was complete.

However, when I arrived back at Sunnyside Avenue in Wallingford I saw the city peaking through the neighborhood down past 44th and 43th.  I was on the top of the hill, but I wanted to be closer to the city.  I wanted a great picture of it.  Therefore, instead of turning left on Sunnyside I turned right and followed the city.  I walked several blocks down, but the city was gone.  I had followed it so far, but it was no longer in site.  Although a nice walk it was, I was disappointed in not finding the city.

               Oh, but there it is!

When Anna was done with work around 6 pm, I met her on Sunnyside and 45th and we walked to the Wallingford market together.  We tried on some jewelry a lady was selling.  Anna almost bought some hot pink ones.  What we did end up buying was some broccoli, a honey crisp apple, and asparagus.  It seems we bought more, but that is all I can think of.

After the market we went to Trader Joes and bought the rest of our groceries, which only included green trea, dark chocolate covered espresso beans, bananas (my pick), butter and several Luna bars.

After Trader Joes we walked down to Scarecrow.  This was a huge movie rental store! It had thousands of movies, all arranged by director on the main floor. On the top floor they were all arranged by genre.  At first Anna and I took a look at the Classic Dramas, then ended up looking at Hitchcock and rented "To Catch A Thief".  We went back upstairs to look at the Comedy Television shows and ended up renting the third season of Seinfeld. Why??? I don't know.

Il est bien

Oui, je pense que je suis prêt.

Je n'étais pas avant.

Mais j'ai vu que je suis bien.

La vie est bien, ou il est quoi j'ai,

Qu'est quoi j'ai vu.

La vie est ici maintenant

Et je suis ici aussi.

Il ne fonctionnera pas loin,

Mais il pourrait se cacher.

Je l'aime.

Il n'est pas mal.

Je suis prêt. 

Je suis ici.

---Desolé mon amie. Pardonnez-moi s'il vous plaît.

A Message For Reason

I walk to class 

In a place looking the same.

Listen to birds

That have known my name.

Bitter cold winter,

It's the state, it's the season.

Why not different?

Like the place that she's in?

Lonely, there's darkness

I want to move out.

A ticket to Rome,

To find me a route.

Air and the temperature

Don't define this place

But a fellow dear greeting

With a plain cheerful face

Oh darkness it does not

Sit and drink tea,

Only leaves and then after,

Teaches me to not flee.

I love this place, 

It's not foreign, it's home,

It's not made by temperature,

But love, not from Rome.

I can travel far,

And learn differences from here,

But here is my stay,

And here is my dear.

The dear is not ground,

It is not material outside,

It's the faces seeking more,

And in the shadows they hide.

Like me too, I am gone,

Hiding of shameful arrays.

Though that is my flesh,

My reason to stay.

He says yes, you shall,

But don't inherit the earth,

Come cast it on me,

And seek others in hurt.

Bless all thy dear children,

In thy tender care,

And reach out and follow,

And bring love that is rare.

The Love Drug

Calling it now a sarcastic tone,

Under dark privileges met, and set alone.

Collecting thoughts that scar the sky,

And detect a crimson stain and lie.

Whipped to lashing and crying to none,

Bitten in wounds so small, so done.

From two to three, then following through,

A tired slum collects the chew.

A long thought out sentence ravages on,

Then one becomes two and so on and on.

Nevertheless to beat up an old unknown pal,

Strictly a promise set by gruesome locale.

Garden by rose bush in jargon of grey,

A lively hotel room begs visitors to stay.

Chandeliers stretch back, glistening quietly,

In glance of who speaks, ever so politely.

A mimic in time cannot ever tell,

If the past produces currents to put out to sell.

Waiting to Decorate

I decided this may be what my room will look like next year.  My interior design skills decided to kick in when I started cutting up pieces of magazines. The green at the bottom is a rug. 

Years ago, years ago, years ago

He's come down to tell me

That life is so close to the end

And I cannot let it slip away

And be so caught up with myself

And the earth cannot be my

resting place

I have a bigger space

To take my life

In a quiet peaceful place

You are my resting place

And though we see him go

It's still hard to cope

And I see her cry

And it kills me inside

I'm scared to say

I will not last unless you stay

I'm lost without meaning

Of where we will go

You take me in

And I start to love again

Where will I be

in these coming days

I cannot I cannot

You know the way

and you are my resting place

A Simple Life, The True Miraculous One

And although it is sad,

We cannot grieve this day.

His arms and legs now stay,

In Gods miraculous way.

Life in greatness it is true,

My grandpa was a real man.

Sturdy of his talk,

And scruffy like a can.

Neither life nor death,

Has a real name,

But I find it lurking,

In the depth of my brain.

I think about it often,

The way we leave this earth.

It's bothersome at times,

But brings back life and birth.

Our life is but a fraction,

Of eternity in His land.

And we cannot mourn,

For the dead beneath the sand.

In joyous praise we raise,

And live forevermore,

In wonder of the Holy,

And where one day we'll soar.

Hello Spring

I truly forgot 

How the sun shown outdoors

And comes so close to your face

I almost forgot

That trees have a scent

And a field is a meditating place.

I started to remember

How the sky has color

And it twinkles so close in your eye.

I finally felt

That the air has warmth

And draws your breath to a comforting sigh.

Oh Happy Day

And in helping others 

and being held in a charitable name,

Do we loose focus 

Of this worthy cause to claim?

To succeed is not to gain

As to gain is not to win,

The colors of our soul,

Do truly lie within.

As this cliche thought in poetry

May only seem so dull,

We cannot live so busily,

Daily making life our goal.

It is not ours to own,

Although earth was made for us,

A purpose in our self,

Is something we cannot trust.

A selfless barrier lies

When we live and only strive

For a being that is love

And dictates the day we die.

This Years First Storm

Indeed outside the rain is a wicked beat,

It rests its veins in the pain of our seat.

Beating the pane of a window close by,

The stars cannot even open an eye.

Stealing the show one thousand feet in air,

The sun to come out, it will not dare.

A loveless romance, it tears our thought,

To a wretched soul, our minds do rot.

Withering heights claim it has a righteous name,

 I agree with the swift wind it strikes the blame.

Red balloons, Heart-Shaped

Sitting in my bedroom looking out the window, I was surprised to see my valentine float by.

It's All I Know

The sun rises and it sets and still everything  I see can be made into it's own beauty.

I want you to know what can be discovered beyond the green and beautiful wildflowers of the earths land.  Greater and bigger things are held outside the boundaries of life's most exciting tasks.

Current images of supernatural are not real.  The spirit is supernatural and in the comforting, intangible, real, and abstract emotions felt beyond our grasp, lies a spirit.

"And I hope that in time you will know all of the secrets that in my heart I hold, that you will esteem them as much as I try to, and that you will hold them and share them more than I do.  How can I help you to see?  There is more to life than you and me, and all the hopes and fears we paint onto the canvas of broken dreams where we built our lives on we, not He. They will be obsolete."                                                        - Lori Chaffer

If I do not have a life to live beyond the one now, than I am lost in the one today.  I have a purpose that surpasses earthly things.

For Blake.

Thank you.

P.S I want headphones!

It Makes Sense Right Now

I enjoy photography

           

The Lights Are Pretty And The Snow Is Done

I need some boots for this crazy weather in Kansas.  I like these a lot.

www.simpleshoes.com

And I suppose when it is spring these would be perfect. Eco-friendly too.

I Tasted the Colors of the Rainbow

This world doesn't offer a road that goes on forward

You have to build it every step of the way.

I've come a long way.

It's been a long day.

Thousands beyond thousands of this world's great distractions are the greatest test of strength I could know.

Psalms 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God."

Simply Softly Sing

 I like listening to people softly sing simply.

 It inspires me to sing simply softly.

The Last Cranberry Cookie

Somewhere amongst the deepest theories of reverse psychology my day was made by making someone else's. Maybe if we told CosmoGirl it was the #1 remedy for clear skin, our world might be a little happier.

I believe so.

And When I See It

My dear friends are all much aware of their loveliness, I hope. I post pictures of either the beautiful land that surrounds me or the beautiful people that surround me. I feel selfish to have it all. Mmmm but sometimes I just can't let go of the things I am so use to. Yet, at times, when I am so use to having such wonderful things I loose the thought of them being so grand. Today, I know they are grand.