Paulette Rees-Denis's Blog, page 53
June 15, 2012
What is rocking my world this fine Friday
what is rocking my world this fine Friday
Www.Thedailylove.com
Yowza…mastin is doing it, sayin it…so personal yet so universal…
The daily good
Www.goodis.com
Full of goodness…once a day
Brain pickings.org
Oh yea…read what Henry miller has to say about his work habits…love him…
My new very short and still very blonde haircut
Hank Williams the third, wow, he so tears it up…loving his music!
Vintage Trailer Rally in Roslyn, WA, this weekend (look for photos upcoming!)
Dancing…working out…my new membership at the neighborhood gym…kick boxing, hip hop, Zumba, flat abs, boot camp, oh yea…I just feel soooo good
Getting booked in Austria for the first time, so many dance workshops coming up this year and next. I am so excited…
Having a few of my upcoming my dance workshops sell out in record time–Flagstaff, Orlando, England, loving that big time!
And being on the road with my man, my 2 corgi dogs, and my vintage Shasta trailer, out to hang out with good friends….
And this most glorious day, thank you for being here…and you enjoy now, hear?
June 13, 2012
Wednesday Thoughts and Quotes: My Glamping Escapades!
Jeff and I have way too much fun sometimes! After being so tied down with our now defunct wine bar, both of us are enjoying the freedom of working for ourselves again. We never actually quit doing that, since we have been self-employed for eons, Jeff a carpenter and musician, me a tribal bellydance teacher/ performer/photographer/writer, but we had added a whole other job over the top of those which tied us down (or up!) way too much…although I loved it to pieces, what was I thinking?!
Times, they are a changin’, and I am having a ball. Me, the work-a-holic has gone astray!
Anyway, with some free weekends now open for us (only sometimes for me in my dance world), we’ve been enjoying the glamping life so far this summer. Glamour camping, you’ve heard me talk about that before. We have amassed 3 camper/trailers-a vintage 1956 Aloha-totally not road ready, a 1963 turquoise and white with wings Shasta-getting glamped up with a cowboy music theme, and a modern/retro 2004 T@B-complete with lava lamp and a bit of orange 60′s schtick. That all spells hitting the road with F-U-N!
And I belong to a few T@B groups, one of which I host an annual rally with , and a girl group of cowgirl renegades callers Sisters on the Fly (www.sistersonthefly.com). Crazy fun stuff…
photo:Cate Gable
I love hitting the road. Jeff and I have always enjoyed traveling together, and when we bring our 2 little corgi dogs-Rika and Gracie-it is a blast, they make me laugh so, playing ball and swimming. Seeing the country side is awe-inspiring, especially when unexpected canyons of adventure turn up.
Probably more than anything I love meeting others on the road. We do have our trailer groups, so often we caravan and meet up somewhere for a rally. When our groups go out together, there are always new folk, and the folks we haven’t seen in a year or two, which usually feels like yesterday.
photo:Rob Klengler
And not only do we get to venture to someplace new, but we explore, hang out, share food and wine, laugh-a lot. Plus I take my camera everywhere and am so digging on taking photos again. The past few weekends I got some cowgirls up bellydancing at one rally,what a hoot…
and we gathered our friends to play music with us at another! Sweet…
photo: Rene Groom (Adventures with Dusty-http://adventures-with-dusty.com/
It’s a lovely road out there, and I’m sure you’ll hear more about it, with photos and tales and wild rides…. thanks for being here!
June 11, 2012
New Collective Soul and Teacher Training dates in England, plus the JOY festival!
Woo hoo, I am coming to England this fall!
I am so excited to be heading back over to England to teach and dance with all my sisters!
My workshops at the JOY festival in Leeds are sold out, so we added a Friday night workshop too…
In Bournemouth , UK, October 2012~Collective Soul and Teacher Training dates
CS1 Oct 17, 18, 19
plus an informal Hafla party on Friday the 19th, with live music!
free day on SATURDAY
TT1 -Oct 21,22,23
CS2 -Oct 24,25,26
TT2 -OCT 27,28,29
CS3 Oct 30, 31, NOV 1
please email me for more info, for your application
<dance@gypsycaravan.us>
and to get details about Bournemouth, accomodations, fees and deposits, etc, email Steffi at
how to ride a bike
how to ride a bike
memories of those early days
carefree and easy
can you recapture that feeling
that time of when
you learned how to ride a bike
can you fall and get back up
can you try and try again
push off and pedal, faster
to feel the wind in your hair
the laughter from your mouth
freedom from the everyday
the spirit of free time
is time really free
it just is, pretty much is
that time of when
you learned how to ride a bike
wash it shine it up
make it pretty and proud
push off and pedal, faster
you’ll never forget it
once done, now is
memories revisited and made again…
Paulette Rees-Denis, 2012
June 6, 2012
Wednesday thoughts and quotes: A legend…live your legend…
A legend…live your legend…
What must it be like to be a legend, living or dead? Of course, dead, you would never know…but living, well, that is now…
I saw Merle Haggard perform in the Snoqualmie Casino the other night. My brother said to me when I told him I was going, “Merle, is he still alive? You know Doc Watson died the other day.” (Another legend gone…)
Well, yes Merle is still alive, and kicking, to use an old cliché. I guess I should say his is still strumming, picking, fiddling, and singing, among a few other bits I’m sure. He was born in 1937 so that makes him 75. Not ancient in todays world of age, but hey, he has been playing around all of his adult life, and causing many a kind of sensation from his songs, and his beliefs. Not one to be afraid to speak, or sing, up, he lays it down and plays it well. He is a legend, a country music legend.
“The word “legend” usually makes an appearance at some point when discussing Merle Haggard. It’s an acknowledgment of his artistry and his standing as “the poet of the common man.” It’s a tribute to his incredible commercial success and to the lasting mark he has made, not just on country music, but on American music as a whole.”
It felt like such a privilege to be there, in that room with him, with almost all of the audience screaming out, or punching the air with a hell yeah, or singing along. Me, I couldn’t sit still, so stood up in the back, dancing, crying, singing, and hell yeah’ing myself.
He still has it in him, no question about it. The entire band was tight and put on a great show. It was riveting, to be there, to see him. Live. Loving his music, the roads he walked with and because of his music, singing about his life, and others. Sharing his songs with the world for us to listen to and play. I play many Hag songs on my guitar, and love them!
What does it mean to be a legend? How does one become a legend? Standing up for your beliefs, being the best, making an impact, surrendering, being authentic, becoming an expert, tuning up your craft, walking your talk, doing what you love, and changing the world because of it.
Check out Scott Dinsmore’s sight for some thoughts about living your legend.
“The people who do work that matters, the Living Legends who impact the world, all have at least one trait in common. They push limits.”
“The biggest rewards will always involve pain to get there. The people who avoid the pain also manage to avoid the feelings and experiences that bridge the gap between average and extraordinary.”
Scott Dinsmore
I hope you do…live to the richest, the fullest, the happiest…right on…
Let me know what you think. Add to the list of legend makers.
And what do you think makes a person a legend?
May 30, 2012
Wednesday Thoughts and Quotes
Good morning my friends…
“Awesome dancers
have discovered the inner passion
that transforms their movement into art.” Rhee Gold
There is a website called PositiveDance.com
that I like to check out every now and again. It is uncanny, sometimes, when I do, and I find the inspirational messages speaking right to me, at that moment. Synchronistic moments, I’m sure you have had those. When you find just the right thing that you need at just that right moment.
Like our synchronistic dance form, our tribal bellydance, or our words, or our art, when all flows together in one big union, everything comes together to make that art piece, usually unspoken, as if by magic! It is magic, the spirit moving through us, as we open up, empty out our creative vessel. To get the message, to spread the message, the art, the wow, whatever that is in each of us, as artists.
But you have to be willing to receive it, to trust yourself, down deep. Yes? To be in the right body, the right frame of mind, the right shining minute. To be in the place where you are able to bring that spark, that vision, to fruition, to be your most fabulous creative self.
I’ve been fortunate that way. I step out, step off, take the leap or the plunge or whatever you want to call that magical place, to allow myself to move forward, usually without expectations. And it is grand. And I invite you all to take that step, that leap, do it today, don’t wait, trust yourself and make your life the most f*^%ing fabulous life you want! Have at it …
“OK, so there is a curve in the road.
Dance down that road to discover that it could be the best curve of your life!” Rhee Gold
May 27, 2012
Sunday Dance to Word: Dance can do so many things
OK, so I’m scimming face book and I come across a shared you tube video of a marriage proposal set to music and dance in the streets, with dancers and non-dancers, and clowns and marching bands and about 60 friends, lip-syncing and dancing to a song as they travel down the street, she on the tailgate of a car, all together for a woman who was being proposed to at the end of this dance number by her man. It made me weep for joy, how friends can come together, share time and space and energy to put together a crazy fun dance number so a friend can ask a love to marry him. And they just kept coming onto the street, and the screen, and they danced their choreography, they filmed it, and they were full of love for this couple, obviously; these friends and family just did it! And she sat and watched and clapped and was awestruck and giddy, and yes of course she said yes! How could you not marry a man who did this for you? Wow…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5_v7QrIW0zY#!
Dance rules, it is about life, joy, celebration and community, community love, bringing all together and holding all so close…
And then I watched a clip of an audition for a dancing TV show, with a beautiful young man dancing what he called Exorcist style dance, something that he originated. He danced this piece so full of passion, heartbreak, soul, agility, great skill and technique. That also made me weep, as it did to the entire audience who gave him a standing ovation. He rips out your heart, breaks you, and heals you, and it was stunning and unique, and incredibly heartfelt. If he never danced again, you know he gave his every inch of himself in this piece.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=sNHi7Wa7vpc
Watch them…did they move you too?
Dance is a catalyst, a mover, a shaker, a prayer, a party, so many things…
What is dance to you? What did these two incredibly different dance pieces do to you? Deep in your gut, get personal, soulful, lay it out, what it is, what it does, how, why, when, where…tell me….
May 25, 2012
Friday What I Am Loving
*Art that makes you question…and question, and discuss, and question, and vehemently argue about why it sucks or does nothing for your vision or your idea of beauty, and be thankful for what you love, and let everyone else do their own thing, and let it teach you not to judge but state your opinions from your true heart…if art does not illicit a response, then what? is it art?
*Vimeo!–learning how to work it for my new online classes coming up soon!
*My garden as always
don’t the poppies just make you weep?
and the fragrance of the wisteria is overwhelmingly delightful…just stand under a bunch and swoon!
and then to take time to sip wine in Bacchus, (or the Spirit House, if I’m meditating!)
and to enjoy time to play with my never-tiring, here’s the ball again mom, pup Gracie…
and to watch my cat Sage as she plays with the fairies and catches the mice (ick)….
and to still miss all my farm animals with a heartache that will never go away…. so I giggle at my metal goaties that I have placed around the jungle!
*Flickr…getting re-aquainted with this app… and put up my treasured textiles for sale on my flickr pages…http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulettegypsycaravan/
ok, my loves, enjoy your weekend, be superfabulous and stand up…
May 23, 2012
Wednesday Thoughts and Quotes
I am so loving the roses…they make me giddy this time of year here in Portland, the rose city, named so for our gardens of lush roses, yes, we have lots of rain!
And they are so luscious and sexy and fragrant and I have many kinds growing in my garden…
My wild jungle garden is my haven, my special place to meditate, to sip wine, to write, and to dig in the dirt…now that is some crazy therapy! Have you ever tried it? Why go to a therapist when you can dig in your dirt? Dig in, thrash around for while, weed, toss, keep, breath deep, cry, smile, and pat yourself on the back for doing the work! See…
I love this quote from prolific writer Margaret Atwood…
In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.
Margaret Atwood http://www.margaretatwood.ca/
When it comes time in the spring to work the garden, I love nothing better than to dig in and get dirty, to weed, and mulch and compost, and plant seeds, and then when you think nothing will grow because dang it, it snowed after you put all those seeds in so you hurry and cover the troughs with black plastic to try to keep them warm, and then turn around and yowza, you’ve got rows of radishes, kale, spinach, lettuces, and oh it is so exciting. And then to pick them for your supper, fresh, earthy, moist, delicious, how can you NOT grow your own food? And flowers…like those roses…
It is gratifying, refreshing, and sometimes body breaking work to garden, but there is nothing like it for me. watching the little sprouts come alive, taking a walk everyday to see the growth, to spend time nurturing, watering, weeding some more, and I am not a weeding lunatic, I love the wildness of the garden too…
and then to be able to just sit, take a load off, smell the air, watch the birds, play with the dogs, in my own little paradise, the one that I steward over…taking care of the earth, I take care of it, it takes care of me… one must not forget that…
then I pick the kale for my morning green smoothies, throw in some fresh herbs, strawberries, and what ever is on hand that morning, my lovely morning ritual, pick me up and make me healthy and happy and vibrant! And a little full of myself too, oh yea…
I’ve made breakfast smoothies since I was a teenage hippie! ha…but Kris Carr has brought the whole experience full circle yet again…Crazy Sexy Diet is a must read for everyone, get on the cart and do it, and make yourself whole and vibrant too..how can one function, and do their meaningfull, powerful work in a body that is tired, sore, sluggish, overweight, and full of junk and processed foods? I don’t get it…
so there,
roses, gardens, food, smoothies, soil, a book and there you go…enjoy the dirt!
May 20, 2012
Sunday Dance to Word: Joni Mitchell and the muse
Last night I watched a documentary about Joni Mitchell, that most amazing, prolific, songstress with a voice and a style like no other…it was a good documentary, Woman of Heart and Mind, filmed in 2003, by director Susan Lacy.
What did I come away with? That Joni was a woman in touch with the miraculous, that she sets up an extraordinary mood with her songs and her voice, and that she was full of wanderlust. That she trusted herself, even though there were times in her later career with Charlie Mingus, that the audience did not get what she was doing. No matter, it was hers, her art, her creations. She trusted and continued to do her thing.
Early on, Joni dated Graham Nash for quite a while, which I actually did not know, but she had to move on from him, to be her independent woman. He had lovely things to say about her, but what stood out from all he said was he would watch her write, and she was just gone, that nothing else existed when she was in her creative moments (for hours), as if the music and the words were coming through her.
I know those moments. I feel that way when I create, to just let my muse run her course through me, to me, with me, and to be an empty vessel to let the god, the spirit, the intuitive passion work, speak, dance, and come forth. It is not always an easy place to find or get to or even trust. Sometimes she comes to me in my sleep, sometimes awake… but it is a beautiful, rewarding place to be, usually after the fact. But when I am in it I am on fire, it is exciting, I think/write/dance so fast, to capture the essence of what I am feeling, before it slips away. I lose a lot of it when I am not paying attention. I am learning to give myself the time, now, to pay attention more, to not let myself get distracted by outside influences, like family, computer, chores…
To allow oneself to be there, in that moment, to get there, to trust in oneself, and in the universe…ahhh, that is bliss…when the work I do is bliss…
How about you? Can you write about your muse? How do you create? Can you put it into words?
Try…share…
Thank you….
