Meredith Kendall's Blog, page 43
June 22, 2014
lemondrops
fall from the crabapple tree: a flock of goldfinches descends to the birdbath
June 14, 2014
haunted house
Went to a haunted house today.
A friend had some business there and I went along.
too scared to look around, too scared to take pics, too scared to stay inside the house. Yeah, it was like that.
big old mansion. Front door wide enough to allow entry of women wearing hoop skirts. First thing I noticed was the gorgeous wallpaper, then the detailed woodwork and antique furniture. I love all that stuff. Then I noticed the ghost on the stairs and another in the parlor. Both wanted me to leave. It felt like there were more spirits. None extended a warm welcoming greeting. There was one spot where I was semi-allowed to sit in the parlor, and one spot on the front porch. I opted for the porch and was so glad when we left. I cleared myself and we headed for places with happier energy.
A friend had some business there and I went along.
too scared to look around, too scared to take pics, too scared to stay inside the house. Yeah, it was like that.
big old mansion. Front door wide enough to allow entry of women wearing hoop skirts. First thing I noticed was the gorgeous wallpaper, then the detailed woodwork and antique furniture. I love all that stuff. Then I noticed the ghost on the stairs and another in the parlor. Both wanted me to leave. It felt like there were more spirits. None extended a warm welcoming greeting. There was one spot where I was semi-allowed to sit in the parlor, and one spot on the front porch. I opted for the porch and was so glad when we left. I cleared myself and we headed for places with happier energy.
garden update
Ran out in the rain yesterday to scatter coffee around the seedlings, protect them from slugs. It worked. They're all ok today: eggplant, basil, tomato, and bean.
Peonies, not yet, almost. My favorite flower. The lush ephemeral blossoms, symbiotic ant relationship, and dark glossy leaves. The fragrance.
Morning glory, marigold, and sunflowers sprouted. Harvesting spinach and could do kale.
Potato in hay seems to be working. Lots of potato sprouts in there, along with the morning glory.
Neighbor most unhelpfully whacked the streetside seedlings along the fence. I might have expressed anger, just for that day.
The garden is a glory of color, energy, peace, and future abundance.
Peonies, not yet, almost. My favorite flower. The lush ephemeral blossoms, symbiotic ant relationship, and dark glossy leaves. The fragrance.
Morning glory, marigold, and sunflowers sprouted. Harvesting spinach and could do kale.
Potato in hay seems to be working. Lots of potato sprouts in there, along with the morning glory.
Neighbor most unhelpfully whacked the streetside seedlings along the fence. I might have expressed anger, just for that day.
The garden is a glory of color, energy, peace, and future abundance.
June 1, 2014
hearing aid
Shared Reiki at a cancer survivor day at the local cancer outpatient center.
I spoke, showed some slides, and a group of us shared Reiki with the mostly geriatric crowd.
The guests raised their hands if they wanted Reiki. They all wanted it.
I stepped behind a short woman with white hair and a pretty blouse. I placed my hands on the top of her head and tuned into the energy. Reiki. After a few minutes I moved my hands toward her ears and heard a high-pitched shriek. What was that? I froze and looked around. What was that sound?
She quickly moved her hand toward her ear and pulled out her hearing aid.
I did that? With my hands? I hadn't even touched her ear, had just moved toward it.
I leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Did I do that?"
"Yes," she replied. "You did."
I spoke, showed some slides, and a group of us shared Reiki with the mostly geriatric crowd.
The guests raised their hands if they wanted Reiki. They all wanted it.
I stepped behind a short woman with white hair and a pretty blouse. I placed my hands on the top of her head and tuned into the energy. Reiki. After a few minutes I moved my hands toward her ears and heard a high-pitched shriek. What was that? I froze and looked around. What was that sound?
She quickly moved her hand toward her ear and pulled out her hearing aid.
I did that? With my hands? I hadn't even touched her ear, had just moved toward it.
I leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Did I do that?"
"Yes," she replied. "You did."
May 29, 2014
sound, just for fun
Tonight at our Reiki Share we had a plant swap. I brought leafus giganticus, raspberry roots, bicolored artemesia, alien plant; calendula, cilantro, and sunflower seeds. I brought home a lamb's ear with a hitchhiker: day lily or narcissus, not sure.
We skipped our usual check-in, and I missed that. Felt like I didn't connect with some people. Too much to do. We did role-playing orientation for three new practitioners. That took up the first hour.
The second hour we presented sound therapy, which is not Reiki, but was fun. Two people ( M & me) brought tuning forks and presented what they (we) knew about sound therapy. Then we tried it out.
I felt strangely tense during my sound therapy session. I got a heavy pain in my frontal lobe with one fork. Dissipated as soon as the practitioner moved on to the next fork.
So an interesting evening. The end to a sunny May day in Maine.
We skipped our usual check-in, and I missed that. Felt like I didn't connect with some people. Too much to do. We did role-playing orientation for three new practitioners. That took up the first hour.
The second hour we presented sound therapy, which is not Reiki, but was fun. Two people ( M & me) brought tuning forks and presented what they (we) knew about sound therapy. Then we tried it out.
I felt strangely tense during my sound therapy session. I got a heavy pain in my frontal lobe with one fork. Dissipated as soon as the practitioner moved on to the next fork.
So an interesting evening. The end to a sunny May day in Maine.
May 25, 2014
lost in the woods, again
Loose minerals: smoky quartz, tourmaline, garnets. That was my quest. A local mine: 0.4 miles, take all you want, keep it, no fee. Early spring, I figured no black flies or mosquitoes. A rainy morning, I figured no crowds.
Vague directions, off I went.
I had a nylon bag for the rocks and crystals. I had gardening gloves to paw through piles of rocks. I stopped to buy a small shovel and pictured myself digging through piles of dirt and rock.
The sun came out and it was hot. Found the vague location: an upscale housing development, with mansions, a golf course, and fancy street lights. There was a park, with trails. I remembered the last park, how I got lost in the woods. A map would be good. I opened the map box and two hornets zoomed out. I jumped back and screamed. Tentatively re-approached, opened the lid, and quickly grabbed a map.I looked at the map and read the descriptions of the trails. No mention of a quarry. A ravine trail, perhaps the quarry was there. I set off.
There was a lot of construction, and piles of interesting rocks along the road. I picked up a few chunks of quartz, maybe 10 pounds in my nylon bag. Then I wandered around the ravine trail. There was a meandering stream, woods, and blueberry fields.
I was in a nature conservancy. Do not collect specimens. I picked up a stray rock in the ravine, one of few. The trails were woodsy, piney, ferny, steamy, and streamy.
I got tired. There was no quarry, and no rocks. Time to head back.
The trails were well marked and well-maintained, but I was on a trail that was not on my map. I kept walking, went over a long scary metal footbridge, along some railroad tracks, and into a housing development. I looked at the GPS on my phone; I was a long way from my car. Some women were sitting in the sun, in a driveway, with 2 toddlers. I asked for directions, secretly hoping they would drive me back to my car. They said they had no idea of how to get where I wanted to go.
I headed back to the woods. I'd been hiking for 2 hours: carrying a bag of rocks, lost, sweating through my clothes, old, thirsty and tired. I thought maybe I got lost because of that rock I picked up in the ravine. It was squarish, and I found it easily in my bag. I set it beside the trail.
I lumbered along, panting and sweating. I saw a turtle on a sunny log in the stream. A blue jay flew onto a low branch. A deer thundered across the trail; I saw her white tail.
With phone GPS I found the right trail, found more rocks (lots of smoky quartz, some black tourmaline, mica), and found my car. Pretty sure I had 60 pounds of rocks by the end. Or 100. Had to carry with both hands and a sharp rock ripped a hole in the bag. I was sweating and panting, my legs ached.
The car. Bliss. Freedom, movement, and air conditioning. Headed home.
I rewarded myself with shopping trips. I purchased mesh bags to cover my blueberry plants and enjoyed an unsuccessful search for a shoe cupboard. Home, with rocks.
Vague directions, off I went.
I had a nylon bag for the rocks and crystals. I had gardening gloves to paw through piles of rocks. I stopped to buy a small shovel and pictured myself digging through piles of dirt and rock.
The sun came out and it was hot. Found the vague location: an upscale housing development, with mansions, a golf course, and fancy street lights. There was a park, with trails. I remembered the last park, how I got lost in the woods. A map would be good. I opened the map box and two hornets zoomed out. I jumped back and screamed. Tentatively re-approached, opened the lid, and quickly grabbed a map.I looked at the map and read the descriptions of the trails. No mention of a quarry. A ravine trail, perhaps the quarry was there. I set off.
There was a lot of construction, and piles of interesting rocks along the road. I picked up a few chunks of quartz, maybe 10 pounds in my nylon bag. Then I wandered around the ravine trail. There was a meandering stream, woods, and blueberry fields.
I was in a nature conservancy. Do not collect specimens. I picked up a stray rock in the ravine, one of few. The trails were woodsy, piney, ferny, steamy, and streamy.
I got tired. There was no quarry, and no rocks. Time to head back.
The trails were well marked and well-maintained, but I was on a trail that was not on my map. I kept walking, went over a long scary metal footbridge, along some railroad tracks, and into a housing development. I looked at the GPS on my phone; I was a long way from my car. Some women were sitting in the sun, in a driveway, with 2 toddlers. I asked for directions, secretly hoping they would drive me back to my car. They said they had no idea of how to get where I wanted to go.
I headed back to the woods. I'd been hiking for 2 hours: carrying a bag of rocks, lost, sweating through my clothes, old, thirsty and tired. I thought maybe I got lost because of that rock I picked up in the ravine. It was squarish, and I found it easily in my bag. I set it beside the trail.
I lumbered along, panting and sweating. I saw a turtle on a sunny log in the stream. A blue jay flew onto a low branch. A deer thundered across the trail; I saw her white tail.
With phone GPS I found the right trail, found more rocks (lots of smoky quartz, some black tourmaline, mica), and found my car. Pretty sure I had 60 pounds of rocks by the end. Or 100. Had to carry with both hands and a sharp rock ripped a hole in the bag. I was sweating and panting, my legs ached.
The car. Bliss. Freedom, movement, and air conditioning. Headed home.
I rewarded myself with shopping trips. I purchased mesh bags to cover my blueberry plants and enjoyed an unsuccessful search for a shoe cupboard. Home, with rocks.
May 19, 2014
Reiki & meditation
both, one must train one's mind. Stay focused. Notice your thoughts, then let them go. Bring the focus back to center.
What is center? A sound, a vision, an action; doesn't matter what it is. It's the bringing back to focus that is the work of meditation. And that helps with Reiki.
When sharing Reiki and my mind drifts to my To Do list, or what I will eat next, or lower back discomfort; I bring my mind back to center. What is center: Reiki symbols, ethics, and intention. Breath. Back to Reiki.
Tonight my mind kept wandering to the endocrine system and chakras. I kept visualizing the endocrine organs: pineal, pituitary, thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal, pancreas, ovaries & testes. Then I brought my attention back to my client's comfort. Back to Reiki symbols, ethics, and intentions.
Then my mind wandered to the cardiovascular system. oops. Back to Reiki.
What is center? A sound, a vision, an action; doesn't matter what it is. It's the bringing back to focus that is the work of meditation. And that helps with Reiki.
When sharing Reiki and my mind drifts to my To Do list, or what I will eat next, or lower back discomfort; I bring my mind back to center. What is center: Reiki symbols, ethics, and intention. Breath. Back to Reiki.
Tonight my mind kept wandering to the endocrine system and chakras. I kept visualizing the endocrine organs: pineal, pituitary, thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal, pancreas, ovaries & testes. Then I brought my attention back to my client's comfort. Back to Reiki symbols, ethics, and intentions.
Then my mind wandered to the cardiovascular system. oops. Back to Reiki.
heartbeat
Best part of holding my grandson: when I feel his small heart beat against my sternum.
electricity
Wish I knew more about it. Is it chemical? It is in people, right? The flow of ions across cell membranes.
And batteries, aren't they full of chemicals? Acids and salts?
But lightning. That's not chemical. Is it?
Why I want to know more: because Reiki is electricity. I haven't studied electricity since grade school science classes. Suddenly I want to know more.
And batteries, aren't they full of chemicals? Acids and salts?
But lightning. That's not chemical. Is it?
Why I want to know more: because Reiki is electricity. I haven't studied electricity since grade school science classes. Suddenly I want to know more.
May 18, 2014
neighbors
When you live in the city you notice. I can see almost 40 houses from my house. All with yards, cars, driveways, dogs. One neighbor has a pool. One house is empty. Over there, she's a beautician. That way, she's hearing impaired and has a barky little dog. He stands in his driveway and stares at his feet. She cleans houses and has lots of company. He's a flirt, borderline lecher. OK, he's a lecher. They go to church every Saturday at 3:45 pm. He plays horseshoes and drinks beer with buddies on weekend afternoons.
Not that I'm standing at the windows; I don't even notice that I notice. But I notice.
So I just noticed. Where is her car? He has a red truck, she has a white car with a pink ribbon on the license plate. They have a little girl; I remember when they brought the baby home and she cried at night. They put up a sandbox in the backyard last spring. Mom's mother visits sometimes, the mother-in-law. Dad's dad parked his truck in the yard and disappeared. Jail?
Where is her car, mom? Mom, the mother-in-law, the little girl: where are they? He hasn't mowed the lawn yet, and I've mowed three times. No barbeques, no sandbox action, no laughter. What happened?
Not that I'm standing at the windows; I don't even notice that I notice. But I notice.
So I just noticed. Where is her car? He has a red truck, she has a white car with a pink ribbon on the license plate. They have a little girl; I remember when they brought the baby home and she cried at night. They put up a sandbox in the backyard last spring. Mom's mother visits sometimes, the mother-in-law. Dad's dad parked his truck in the yard and disappeared. Jail?
Where is her car, mom? Mom, the mother-in-law, the little girl: where are they? He hasn't mowed the lawn yet, and I've mowed three times. No barbeques, no sandbox action, no laughter. What happened?
