Memories are Made of This Tuesday, May 3 2011

 At a restaurant in Nice recently I came upon this photo of Audrey Hepburn in the toilette, no less. So I placed a rose on her photo and snapped the shot. You can find beauty in the oddest places, and Audrey Hepburn has been a blogging icon since my friend Mary Elizabeth and I started using her image in our work blog from time to time, inspired by the story I once heard about her only allowing herself one piece of chocolate cake a year. i just had my second piece of Molten Chocolate Cake at a restaurant in Nice last night, albeit mercifully small in the French style and served with refreshing Tangerine Sorbet. I had tried it first at Isle Sur le Sorgue on Easter Sunday. Ah well, when in Rome as they say. Now I find myself nearing the end of the vacation. Too quickly it has passed as all good things do. And yet I’m feeling grateful to have been able to spend this time in France after so long, and with family. As we get older it becomes more important to treasure the moments we have with each other. In retrospect, we do treasure moments, but then we call it memory. The trick is to be present to the moments and feel the joy and connection we have with each other while it is happening; sometimes easy to forget in our day-to-day lives. That’s what I like about seeing new places and having new experiences. It’s like a kaleidescope of present time and memories in the making all jumbled together. The eyes are capturing everything to record and remember the richness of life that’s occuring in present time. Comme c’est extraordinare!

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La Vie en France Wednesday, Apr 27 2011

 Stayed in Nice a few days and then took to the road in a little Renault for a quick tour of Provence, including Aix en Provence, Isle Sur la Sorgue, Arles, and Cassis. My sister-in-law Jane was crazy about the market at Isle Sur la Sorgue, and I was crazy about the pre-Easter bonfire and candle ceremony starting at 10 PM at a church just one block from our Hotel Cardinal.

 Aix in Provence is where Paul Cezanne hung out, Arles in the Camargue was home to Van Gogh, and Cassis, with a pretty little harbor is where the liqueur Creme de Casssis was invented. My brother Kraig (Paul en France) and his wife Jane are perfect hosts, and indefatigable in showing me around. Hard to believe I’ve been here just a little over a week..we’ve packed a lot in –many villages and towns. I did not take my computer on the vacation within a vacation, but I took lots of photos and just put some up on Facebook. Walking miles and miles each day….there was a bullfight in Arles with massive crowds. We didn’t want to see the bullfight but we saw a big Roman coliseum and St Trophime, a 12th century Medieval church.

It’s crowded and noisy here in Nice and I’m loving seeing and tasting everything. In Aix en Provence, there were beautiful churches, and on Saturday night before Easter we witnessed the most extraordinary thing on the whole trip so far. A pre-Easter celebration on the parvis of St Jean de Malte church. It started at 10 PM and there was a big bonfire outside. A priest was marking symbols of infinity, the Alpha and the Omega on a giant candle about 6 feet high and a foot wide, and chanting a Eucharistic prayer .Then they burned palm leaves and we all lit candles and went inside the church to hear more beautiful chanting and singing, and then Mass …packed with hundreds of people. We stayed at the Hotel Cardinale just a block from the church and could see the big clock tower and hear the chimes every hour. C’est la vie!

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Le Jour du Depart! Monday, Apr 18 2011

It’s official at last. The best Monday in a long time. It’s the first day of my trip to Europe, after a mere 30-year delay. I’ll be meeting my brother and his wife Jane there. They’ve been renting an apartment in Nice for several months, welcoming numerous guests (location, location, location), and it sounds as though they’ve been having a wonderful time.  I’m taking my computer and am planning to chronicle my adventures by practicing my blogging skills. Why not? If a picture is worth a thousand words, then surely some words AND pictures will help me remember the trip. Funny how I don’t really get excited until the last minute. I even slept well last night, a rarity for an insomniac like me. I woke up for a minute, but listened to Gangaji on my iPhone and she seems to be my miracle tranquilizer.

So I’m packed and ready…just need to navigate the road to the San Francisco airport (an adventure in itself) and drop the car at the park and fly, and of course there’s the long flight across the U.S. and the Atlantic. If I remember that every step is part of the adventure, perhaps I can keep my equilibrium even with the  indignities of modern travel. It will be lovely to see Nice again.

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Cathy Cress Author of Mom Loves You Best on Women’s Voices Nov 8 Monday, Nov 8 2010

Cathy Cress

Join me on Women’s Voices Monday November 8 at 7:00 PM Pacific Time for an interview with Cathy Jo Cress. Cress received her MSW in aging from UC Berkeley, and has taught aging at Berkeley, San Francisco State University, Cabrillo College, and the University of Florida. Her new book, Mom Loves You Best, Forgiving and Forging Sibling Relationships, coauthored with her daughter Kali Cress Peterson, examines sibling relationships and healing. Siblings form the longest thread throughout our lives and are among the most enduring relationships we will ever have. Whether bonded by blood, marriage, adoption, foster or fictive siblings, it is often our deepest relationship in a family, binding us together no matter how old or young. Cress’s book examines how repairing family relationships can lead to renewed joyful relationships, working together with siblings through family crises, helping your own children avoid generational patterning, and partnering with siblings to care for aging parents. This should be an interesting evening exploring important issues that affect us all. Join me tonight at 7 PM PST on KZYX.org

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My January Birthday was a joy Saturday, Feb 20 2010

My beautiful birthday gifts

Can’t believe it has been almost a month since my birthday, and I’ve meant to write this blog since then. This was a most blessed of birthdays in so many ways..I am happy that Simon is back at home in Prince Rupert after some intense time in the Yukon (personalities more than terrain, I think). He described a beautiful helicopter dawn flying from the Yukon to the village and hence by plane (or is it thence by plane?) to Vancouver BC where he stayed in the Sheraton with nice clean white sheets and ate delicious fish and chips at a pub nearby. And now he seems happy to be home for awhile…we talked a long time on the phone and it was so good to hear his voice. I’m glad my sister Kim just got married, and I know her heart is healing fully in this new “big phat” love, as she calls it. It was great talking to my sister KT at 8:30 AM on my birthday morning just as I was awakening from a dream. And of course, who would I rather “have lunch with” on my BD than Maria in Puerto Rico…thank God for cell phones. Got some nice Irish stories from my Aunt, and a dishtowel with beautiful red hearts on it that reminds me of Denmark (it’s one of their trademarks), love, Valentine’s Day, and mostly of her–my faithful Aunt who has sent me something on my birthday for years and years. How great is that? And my friend Lynne from Kauai (those days of spiritual bootcamp and “don’t park in front of the Buddha”, as well as a tropical paradise), sent me a book about women and confidence (a lifelong issue of mine–and does she know that! We spent so much time sharing when we were in Kauai). My sister Kim sent me some wonderful cassette tapes from the 1940s–my favorite time period) of famous actors reading for a mystery/suspense hour–including the amazing (and short lived) noir actor Laird Cregar—as well as a glittery, sexy mermaid candle, a red grass house blessing icon/doll (or whatever it is–we couldn’t quite figure it out– but it matches my witchy red broom)–I got three beautiful scarves when I arrived at work this morning, and some fancy femmy sticky notes–all my gifts have been super feminine this year!) My friend Patricia gave me a spangly little coin purse with movie ticket money inside–and for three days  I spent at least four hours a day on the phone with people I care about….and others called, emailed, and Facebooked their loving wishes, too. My brfrother Kraig and sister in law Jane gave me a nice red glass bracelet, and other gifts of all kinds (thoughts , wishes, prayers, lovely gifts) have come my way since then. I’m grateful to have so many loving people in my life….that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? And now January is past and it’s mid-February with some pink blossoms on the trees and spring bulbs popping up….the beat goes on…quickly, quickly passing. Be Here Now as Ram Dass said so many years ago…..

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Thoughts about the New Year Wednesday, Jan 13 2010

My friend Victoria Leary took this photo of me around New Years in San Francisco. The holidays for me this year were exciting yet hectic. Every year I bring out my holiday decorations, kind of resisting this tradition, yet somehow feeling compelled to do it anyway. I guess there is some part of me that participates in this yearly ritual partly to keep the memory of my mother and my Danish grandmother near, and partly to pause from ordinary activities to remember people as I wrap their gifts, rush to the post office, and do my once a year baking. My family is now spread out in many parts of the country, and my son is in Canada, so it’s not like the days so many years ago when people spent the month before the holidays preparing food, making gifts, and spending time together. It’s not so much fun traveling during the holidays any more since we are subjected to searches, pat downs, and long lines, not to mention questionable weather! I still think it would be wonderful if we could all take a few weeks off at the end of the year to maintain the traditions that feel meaningful to each of us. Most of us still “do it all” if we are in the mood, and yet in the rush and bustle of the season it is easy to forget why we do it. I’ve meant to write this post since before the holidays, but I didn’t have time!

Well, anyway, every year when I put away my holiday decorations, I feel a little sad. For me, it always turns out to be both comforting and appropriate to deck the halls in the dark time of the year, and that glow that we feel stretches back through many generations, I think.  Still, it’s always good to see the house again as a plain clean slate ready for the New Year, new experiences, and whether or not we make resolutions, a chance to begin the wheel of the year once again.

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Crystals from the caves of Naica Chihuahua Mexico Friday, Dec 4 2009

 

Crystal cave in Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico

 

My former husband Patrick Suratt (the father of my son Simon), has been working down in Mexico the last couple of winters, and was able to tour an amazing crystal cave in Naica, Chihuahua. These crystals look like some of the most amazing formations I have ever seen, and I wanted to share them on the blog, simply because they are so extraordinary to behold. The waiting list to visit the giant selenites is more than one year, but Pat was lucky enough to find someone who offered to accompany him and his traveling companions on a tour. They just barely made it in time for the tour which is only conducted once a week, and they could only get into part of the cave as most of it was glassed in to protect the crystal from looters and degradation. Some of the selenites are more than 11m long and more than a metre thick but very clear. What a sight to behold, I am sure!

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New Orleans visit rich and bittersweet Thursday, Nov 26 2009

Painting of Mardi Gras Indian

They call it the City that Care Forgot, the Crescent City, the Big Easy–it’s a great city for both saints and sinners. I lived there for 15 years and experienced a lot of life in many different ways. I hadn’t been back in 5 years and was a little apprehensive. My visit was short–only 5 days, and most of it was spent catching up with old friends I had known for 23 years, 17 years, 15 years. As usual, the city graced me with its amazing sensory complexity–architecture, food, personalities, celebration, and a little sadness walking those old familiar streets with so many memories. I was treated like a queen by my friends. There is almost no city I can imagine that has more joie de vivre than does New Orleans. I was hosted by friends Kathleen Turpel and her partner Alessia, (an Italian goddess ) at Nona Mia, and wined and dined by my darling “adopted daughters” Kimmie Kiviranna and Julie Pieri at restaurant August. My brother and his wife took us out to Marigny Brasserie and I got to see my nephew Val who has lived in New Orleans since he arrived to help with the Red Cross and eventually other agencies after Katrina. He was also born there–and that is another story for another post. One of my oldest and dearest friends, Cheryl Gautier and her lovely family greeted me with love and warmth and unsurpassed friendship. So that’s what I mean by rich and bittersweet. It’s hard to live so far away from long time friends, and from the very extraordinary city that is New Orleans.

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My Nephew Val Saturday, Mar 7 2009

This is my nephew Val. He was born in New Orleans. I still remember the day of his birth. He was slated to be a home birth, and at the last minute we had to transport him to the hospital, where the doctors wanted him to be a caesarean baby. His mother and he worked together and he came out just in the nick of time-no knife! I had been the “ambulance” driver in my station wagon, with his mother, father, midwife, and oxygen tank in the back. We drove through red lights and made it to the hospital in time. It was a dramatic entry into the city of New Orleans. His family left for New England while he was still a baby, and he grew up there. Hurricane Katrina brought him back to the city. He decided to help with the rebuilding, and has remained there since, living and working in that soulful city. You know what it means to miss New Orleans? It’s a place that gets inside of you and calls you back. I lived there for 15 years myself. I don’t talk to my nephew nearly enough, but I love thinking of him there, enjoying the music, the food, the inimitable spirit of the city that care forgot.

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My Son Simon Steelhead fishing in British Columbia Wednesday, Jan 21 2009

Here's my son steelhead fishing in Canada

Here he is at last, the young prince, my son Simon. As you can see he is an avid (and successful) fly fisherman. He lives in Northern British Columbia, and loves rivers, wildlife, and the great outdoors. He told me not to write mushy stuff about him, and I won’t. I’d just like to say that I am very proud of who he is as a person. He’s friendly, kind-hearted, sincere, interested in other people (with good radar for authenticity), and he’s a skilled carpenter as well as being quite mechanically inclined. He’s bought his own house by the ocean in British Columbia, and has been doing some remodeling and landscaping there. He’s fond of adventure and sports including skiing, surfing, and snowboarding, and has spent time in the Yukon and other wild places. He worked out at sea on fishing boats for several years, and he’s had a birdseye view of the land from a helicopter on many occasions, and wouldn’t be adverse to getting his pilot’s license one day. (Not my favorite idea, I must admit). He’s very good about staying in touch, which I greatly appreciate. We had a reunion on my birthday last year, and I’m hoping we have the opportunity to spend time together in the coming year. I won’t mention the part about hoping he finds a lovely woman to marry one day soon!

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